


Ghosts in the Closet

by Myaibou



Series: Infinite Potential/Weight of the World/Ghosts in the Closet [3]
Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: Action/Adventure, Drama, F/M, Gay Male Character, Intrigue, Post-Canon, Romance, Suspense
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-07-21
Updated: 2010-07-21
Packaged: 2017-10-10 17:21:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 60
Words: 150,711
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/102205
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Myaibou/pseuds/Myaibou
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Every family has skeletons in its closet. For the Fenton family, it's ghosts. But as their secret, spanning more than a decade, weaves into every aspect of their lives, they find it's not really the ghosts that are the problem.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Ghost of Christmas Present: Part I

**Author's Note:**

> **Disclaimer:** Danny Phantom and related characters: _so_ not mine. Butch Hartman created him, and Nickelodeon owns him. (Er, Danny. Not Butch.) ;)
> 
> **Rating: Teen and up **for adult themes, mild violence, sexual situations (between adults, never underage or rape/non-con)
> 
> **Warnings:** Spoilers for the whole series.
> 
> **Timeline:** It's probably no surprise that the timeline for the show's canon is a little... hopeless. But for my purposes, a coherent timeline was important. Assuming the episodes were produced in chronological order, and ignoring the May 9 date in **Prisoners of Love**, 'cause there's just no way to make that work, a semi-coherent timeline can be cobbled together from the other specific references given throughout the course of the show.
> 
> **Freshman Year (age 14)**  
> September - October: **Mystery Meat **through** Public Enemies**. (14 episodes)  
> October 31: **Fright Night**  
> November - December: **Maternal Instincts **through** The Ultimate Enemy**. (12 episodes)  
> December 24: **The Fright Before Christmas**  
> January - end of school year: **Secret Weapons **through** Masters of All Time**. (6 episodes)  
> Summer vacation: **Reality Trip**.
> 
> **Sophomore Year (age 15)**  
> August - October:** Double Cross My Heart **and** Kindred Spirits**.  
> Election Day (early November): **Eye for an Eye**.  
> November - end of school year: **Infinite Realms** through** Frightmare**. (8 episodes)  
> Summer vacation: **Claw of the Wild **and** D-Stablized**.
> 
> **Junior Year (age 16)**  
> Beginning of the school year:** Phantom Planet**.
> 
> It's not perfect, especially since more than half of the entire series would take place in a single semester of Danny's freshman year, but the time references in this story use this basic timeline.
> 
> I've also kind of arbitrarily decided Danny, Tucker, Sam, and Val all have summer birthdays so that they would remain the same age throughout an entire school year. It just made figuring ages easier that way.
> 
> **Acknowledgments:** I couldn't have written this story without a lot of help. Big thanks go to **Rosiewook**, for info on vaccinations; **PG**, for help with the legal details; and **Julietvalcouer** for pointing me in the right direction to find information about how Congress operates. I also appreciate the incredible input **ArcherRat **and** Ginef **supplied in a writer's workshop.
> 
> Most of all, I am indebted to the fabulous **Dragondancer5150**, my beta-tester, who put up with 60 chapters, endless revisions, and was willing to brainstorm with me over every little stumbling block I came across. And all after I dragged her into the fandom just for this purpose. She really went above and beyond, and I can't thank her enough.
> 
> One more nod. The seeds of this story began not so much as an actual story but, rather, a collection of unrelated plot bunnies. The story foremost in my brain took place when they're adults several years after the series, so I couldn't figure out how to tell it without including too much boring exposition about how they got to this point in their lives. I felt like it needed some of the background that was in my other plot bunnies, but I didn't know how to write that in a way that would work as one story.
> 
> Around this time, I came across a really good DP author, **Chaos Dragon**. Two of her stories, _Chaos Theories _and_ Challenge Theories_, aren't so much stories as collections of unrelated one-shots. So unrelated, in fact, that they don't even exist in the same continuity. A couple of things really intrigued me about these collections. The first was that there was no sort of chronology involved. One vignette would be set during canon, the next when they're adults, and the next back when they're teenagers, and so on. The second was that some of the stories weren't quite stand-alones, but were sort of multi-chapter stories-within-a-story. But these multi-part stories were not consecutive. There would be part one, then some unrelated one-shots, then part two, etc. I really liked this organization, even though it was very foreign to my linear, chronological brain.
> 
> This gave me an idea. What if I took my story idea, broke it up into parts, started _near the end _instead of at the beginning, then filled in the backstory with the "slice of life" one-shots arranged, not chronologically, but thematically? All of a sudden, my unrelated plot bunnies became an actual story.
> 
> I had great fun plotting out how to fit all the pieces together like a puzzle, and I have Chaos Dragon to thank.

_ **Amity Park  
December 22, 4:45 pm CST** _

For the first time in her life, Sam understood why some people hated Christmas.

Outside the passenger window of the mammoth, tricked-out, ghost-fighting recreational vehicle—known to its owners as the Fenton Family Assault Vehicle or the Fenton RV, depending on who was driving it—the sky was turning a deep purple as the last bit of daylight faded in the west. She could see Christmas lights coming on in many of the houses they passed as they lumbered down the snow-dusted streets of Amity Park—pinpricks of festive reds, blues, greens, and golds that kept the dark at bay. But their cheery glow only served to bring the sense of loss Sam was feeling into sharp relief. It wasn't enough to completely ruin what had always been her favorite time of the year, but it certainly kept her from feeling the kind of joy she'd always associated with the holidays.

A faded _Amity Park Supports Danny Phantom_ sign, trimmed with lights, passed into her line of sight, and she pressed her lips together. It had been a while since she'd seen one of those signs. The more generic _I Believe in Ghosts_ placards with the black-with-white-trim ribbon emblem in the corner were far more common, and even those weren't as ubiquitous as they had been before the election. Seeing the older sign added to her melancholy, and her hand automatically went to her own black and white ribbon, pinned to her coat.

The RV pulled up to the curb in front of a two-story brownstone that was decorated much like the other houses. There were lights lining the doorway, and a menorah held a prominent place in the front window next to the _I Believe in Ghosts_ sign. Hanukkah had been over for nearly two weeks, but the menorah and the other Hanukkah decorations inside would stay up through New Year's, along with the lights and the Christmas tree.

"Well, here we are."

Sam turned to face the driver, offering what she hoped would be interpreted as a warm, sincere smile. Not that she didn't feel sincere warmth. It was just that she had to plaster on fake smiles so often these days, it was hard for her to believe the real thing looked remotely genuine. "Thanks, Maddie."

The older woman smiled in return, but there was a sad edge to it. She tucked a strand of short, gray-streaked auburn hair behind her ear in a nervous gesture. "Are you sure I can't talk you into staying with us, sweetie? I just hate to think of you here all alone."

"Alone?" Sam made a derisive sound at the back of her throat. "You're kidding, right? My problem is that I don't get _enough_ time alone. Between work on the case, all the media schmoozing and public appearances, and the endless flow of people dropping by or calling to check up on me, I would kill for five _seconds_ alone. And that's not even taking into account the ghosts. I swear, I think the Box Ghost has opened up some sort of Ghost Travel Agency, and I'm the first stop on the tour. If there's one thing I can promise you, it's that I will not wither away from loneliness anytime soon."

Maddie chewed her lip a moment. "It's not loneliness I'm worried about."

Sam gave a brief nod of understanding. "Jack is here every day checking the security system, and then Nick comes by and fixes whatever Jack did."

She got a snort out of Maddie with that one.

Bolstered by the slight improvement in Maddie's mood, Sam continued. "Dash finds any excuse he can to hang out here—he'd sleep on the couch if I'd let him—and I keep a Fenton Phaser on me at all times." She patted her pocket, where the small ecto-plasmic gun was fastened securely into a pocket holster.

"The one Jack modified?"

She nodded again. They both knew it wasn't the ghosts Maddie was worried about, either.

This placated the older woman somewhat, but then a different look of apprehension crossed her features. "Sam, I… I don't suppose Danielle is one of the people who calls to check up on you?"

Sam looked down, focusing on some scope or another on the RV dashboard, her shoulder-length black hair falling like a curtain around her face. "I'm the last person she wants to talk to."

Maddie put her hand on Sam's shoulder. "It isn't just you, Sam. Jack and I haven't heard from her, and neither has Jazz. I keep hoping…" She sighed. "She still blames herself."

"She blames _me_."

"It's not your fault, sweetie. And it's not hers, either."

"I know. And on most days, I know we did the right thing. But Dani's gonna have to work it out for herself."

Maddie turned, sitting back in her seat in weary resignation. "I just hope she does it soon. I worry about her, that she'll…"

"Do something stupid," Sam finished, looking back up. "Valerie won't let her. You know that."

Maddie's expression turned sardonic. "Like drop out of school?"

"She just took a year off. Even her advisor thought it was the smart thing to do."

"I know, but still." Maddie put her hands on the steering wheel, gripping it tightly. "This isolating herself from her family, from school, from everything and everyone but Valerie. She needs us, and we need her."

Sam felt a familiar anger bubble up. She understood why Dani wouldn't talk to her, why she blamed her for the way things had gone down on that unspeakable, horrible night. But to do this to Maddie? Sam had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from making a nasty reply, which would only serve to make Maddie feel worse. Instead, she shrugged. "I know, but what can we do?"

"Valerie could make her come home for Christmas, for one thing."

Her irritation rose to the surface again, and this time she couldn't quite keep it out of her voice. "Danielle's a big girl, Maddie. Valerie can't _make_ her do anything."

"Well, she certainly could refuse to let her stay at her apartment. Then she'd have to come home, or go back to school, or _something_."

"No, she wouldn't have to come home or go back to school. She's an _adult_. Like it or not, she can do whatever the heck she wants. At least with Valerie, she's not going off half-cocked looking for revenge and getting herself killed in the process."

Maddie sighed. "I know she's an adult, but I'm still her—" She stopped short. "No, I'm not. I'm not her mother, not really."

The pain in her voice punctured Sam's anger, deflating it, and this time it was she who put an arm on Maddie's shoulder, squeezing it for emphasis. "Yes, you are. This has nothing to do with that, and Valerie would be the first person to tell you so. It's the fact that you're _Danny's_ mother that's the issue. That's why she can't face you. Or Jack, or Jazz. She's even uncomfortable around Tucker. But she'll come around in her own time. You'll see."

"I know. But it's already been five months, and I..." Maddie faltered, blinking back tears. Like Sam, she was wearing a black and white ribbon pinned to her coat, and she toyed with its ends as she tried to regain control. "It feels like I lost them both, and it's _Christmas_, and I thought for sure by now…"

Sam pressed her lips together again, unable to trust herself enough to respond.

Then Maddie shook it off, smiling. "No. I'm not going there. We'll have a full house for Christmas, and there are plenty of reasons to celebrate. You're staying over Christmas Eve after the candlelight vigil, right?"

"If you have room."

"Don't be silly! Of course we have room! Jazz, Nick, and Charley are the only other ones staying the night. They'll be in Jazz's old room, and you can have Danny's. Then that'll be at least a day or two I won't have to worry about you."

Back on safer ground, Sam grunted in exasperation. "You don't have to worry about me at all. I—whoa." She put a hand to her abdomen.

An anxious frown crossed Maddie's features. "Everything all right?"

"Oh, everything's fine. The baby just kicked, that's all. He does that a _lot_ now."

Maddie laughed. "I remember what that was like. When I was pregnant with Danny, Jack and I were convinced he'd grow up to be a field goal kicker for the Colts." Then, she gave Sam a hesitant look. "Do you mind? I know you don't like people touching your belly all the time, and we were just at the doctor's, but…"

"Please. I don't like random strangers on the street acting like they have the right to manhandle me, but you are definitely on the approved list."

Maddie reached out and placed her palm across Sam's abdomen, and Sam guided it to the place where she'd felt the most activity. They didn't have to wait long before there was another kick. It felt like popcorn in a hot air popper, and Sam couldn't help but laugh. "Man. It's like Circus Gothica in there."

"Just wait a couple more months. You'll swear you can make out body parts through your skin."

"Okaaaaay, that's really creepy."

"Oh, it's not as bad as it sounds. The circus acts were my favorite part about the third trimester."

"Considering all the other joys of the third trimester, like the backaches and the squashed internal organs, I'm thinking it won't really be much of a contest. And kicking is good. He can kick me all he wants, just so long as doesn't phase right out of my uterus."

Now it was Maddie's turn to be reassuring. "Don't you worry about that, Sam. I know things got a little scary there when we couldn't find the heartbeat, but those weekly shots you're taking will keep him locked up safe and sound. I promise."

Sam nodded, growing more solemn. "I know you keep telling me I don't have to thank you, but I really can't _stop_ thanking you for everything you've done. Dr. Mihashi's an amazing doctor and a wonderful person, but she would never be able to take care of this pregnancy without you."

"Do you think I'd trust my grandson to any other ghost expert?"

"There are no other ghost experts."

"Exactly."

"Hey, wait a minute!" Sam grinned as an idea occurred to her. "What if I stopped getting the shots when it's time for him to be born? Maybe we can just phase him out of me!"

Maddie arched an eyebrow at her. "I don't think so. You're gonna have to do it the hard way, just like everyone else."

Sam wrinkled her nose in a mock scowl. "Oh, come on! If I've gotta spend the next couple of decades worrying about the trouble a kid with ghost powers can get into, the least he can do is make his entrance into the world as painless as possible."

"Not gonna happen. And, Sam?" Her expression turned serious. "The worrying doesn't stop after a couple of decades. It never stops. With or without ghost powers."

Sam swallowed as she met Danny's mother's eyes. "Yeah. I know."


	2. The Ghost of Christmas Present: Part I

_ **August  
The day of the accident** _

_ **"Young Danny Fenton, he was just fourteen…"** _

The scariest part wasn't the explosion, although that had been bad—Sam was sure her heart had stopped beating when the Fentons' weird portal thing activated with Danny inside. And it wasn't the freaky white hair, or the way the hazmat suit he was wearing had done some sort of photo-negative reverse, with the white body turning black and the black collar, belt, gloves and boots turning white. Heck, just seeing him stumble out of the thing, alive, made the the hair and jumpsuit seem trivial.

The scariest part was when he collapsed, not into her arms, but _through_ them.

* * *

When he rolled onto his back and opened his eyes, she saw that they had changed, too. From blue to green. _What the heck? _

Tucker fell to his knees beside them. "Danny! Are you okay?"

"I-I think so." He put his hand to the back of his head. "I just banged my head."

Sam and Tucker exchanged terrified looks. "Banged your head? Dude, your hair turned white! And your eyes are _glowing_."

"What?" Danny jumped up, then swayed a little unsteadily, stumbling over to where a mirror hung above a small sink. "What happened to me?" And he fainted again.

* * *

If the scariest part had been when he'd collapsed the first time, the second scariest was when he collapsed the second time. Because as soon as he hit the floor, there was a blinding flash of light, like one of those antique camera flashes. Only it was coming from _Danny_. And when the light was gone and Sam could see again, she gasped.

His hair was its normal black, and the jumpsuit was gone, replaced by the jeans and t-shirt he'd been wearing underneath, as if nothing strange had happened.

Nothing strange, except for the two seconds he turned invisible.

* * *

When Jazz ran panicked into the basement, having heard explosion from her room, Tucker and Sam managed to convince her they should be the ones to ride in the ambulance with Danny. She was, after all, the only one who could drive. And Jazz was nothing if not logical.

Well, logical and angry. And worried. But more angry. Because as far as she knew, her brother had only been _near_ the Portal when it had activated, not _inside_.

She hadn't seen the white hair, or the glowing eyes. Or the way his hand kept fading to nothing in Sam's grasp.

* * *

They kept him overnight at the hospital, but only for observation. After all the x-rays, tests, and questions—which a stunned Danny answered somewhat vaguely—they'd found nothing more serious than a mild concussion.

Not one doctor saw him when he'd turned invisible. Not one nurse caught him as he sank out of sight through the gurney. His parents and Jazz had missed it when Danny somehow ended up floating two feet above his bed.

Only Tucker and Sam had seen, and Danny swore them to secrecy.

If Sam had her way, she would take the secret to her grave.


	3. The Ring: Part I

** _September  
Two years after the accident  
Age 16_ **

_Whaddaya say? Wanna go for a ride? See where the future takes us?_

The future, or at least the first hour or so of it, took them to the Skulk and Lurk Bookstore. They were both hungry, and neither of them wanted to deal with running into anyone they knew—especially Tucker—at the Nasty Burger or any of their usual haunts. The Skulk and Lurk had a nice little café, their menu included both "normal" sandwiches for Danny and vegan selections for Sam and, most importantly, they could have privacy there.

After ordering at the counter, they found a quiet table in the corner to wait for their sandwiches. Sam watched as Danny fiddled with the plastic skull the girl behind the counter had given them. It had the number nine painted in red across its top to indicate which order was theirs, and Danny spent a few moments absorbed in tracing the number with his finger before finally looking up at Sam, blushing. "I guess this is our first official date."

"Yeah, I guess it is." Sam felt a little red-faced herself.

"Does it seem weird?"

"A little," she admitted. "But a good weird. An I-could-definitely-get-used-to-this kind of weird."

He grinned, setting the skull down. "Yeah. Me, too."

"You do realize, though, that we're never going to hear the end of this from Tucker. Not only has he been on my case about you since, like, forever, but now he's gonna claim responsibility for getting us together."

Danny raised his eyebrows. "How is Tucker responsible for getting us together?"

"He's the one who figured out about 'Wes.'"

"Wes?" Danny frowned in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"'Wes,' the mystery ring guy." Sam gave him a cryptic grin, enjoying his confusion a moment before she clarified. "When you first asked me to hold onto your dad's class ring for you, when you were gonna give it to Valerie, I thought the name engraved on it was 'Wes.'"

Valerie, Danny's almost-girlfriend a year and a half ago, was a ghost hunter with a high-tech jet sled and battle suit, a burning grudge against Danny Phantom, and a crush on Danny _Fenton_, not knowing they were one and the same. The sled and suit had been provided to her courtesy Danny's archenemy, Vlad Masters, mostly to feed the grudge. The crush she had developed on her own.

Sam might have found the irony of the situation amusing had Danny not reciprocated Valerie's feelings, never mind the fact she was constantly trying to destroy his alter ego. They'd gone out on a few dates, and Danny had planned on giving her his father's old class ring, but before he'd had the chance, she'd broken it off, choosing to focus her energies on hunting his ghost half instead of romancing his human half.

The irony of _that_ had been impossible for Sam to find amusing. It had hurt Danny too much.

But time lent perspective. Valerie knew the truth now—about Danny and about Vlad—and Sam and Danny had both made peace with her. Well, maybe not _peace_ on Sam's part so much as _cessation of hostilities_. Still, she and Danny had gotten to the point where they could find humor in the ring's history, and she was taking great pleasure in watching him try to puzzle out what she meant about the engraving.

He cocked his head, his eyebrows knit in bemusement. "And you thought the ring said 'Wes' because…?"

"It's 'Sam' upside-down." She tugged at the ring on her left hand. It still felt new and strange there, since he'd only given it to her an hour ago—_officially_ given it to her this time, not just asked her to hold it for him. When she got it off her finger, she held it out to him, positioned so that the engraving inside the band was upside-down. "See? It looks like it says 'Wes.' I always wondered who that was—thought maybe your dad bought the ring used or something. Until Tucker found it in my jewelry box when I was packing for Antarctica, and he figured out it was really my name. Naturally, he started giving me all sorts of grief about it, and I… I guess I finally figured maybe he was right. Maybe it was meant for me." She felt her cheeks get warm again. "That's why I got up the nerve to give it to you to take into the Ghost Zone and made you promise to bring it back."

"Because of Tucker?"

She nodded, her blush deepening at the memory of how hard it had been to do even that much, despite Tucker's insistence that Danny shared her feelings. She'd been relieved when he'd seemed receptive, maybe even on the verge of telling her how he felt, which had in turn had emboldened her to kiss him on the cheek. Just a small peck to wish him luck in his efforts to gather up enough ghosts to save the world from the huge asteroid bearing down on them, but he'd stunned her by responding with a kiss of his own—a _real_ kiss, not just a peck or a fake-out make-out, like the two kisses they'd shared in the past, but only as ploys to distract someone else from what they were really doing at the time.

She still couldn't quite wrap her mind around it all; not the kiss, not the ring, and not Danny, sitting across the table from her in a dark corner of the Skulk and Lurk, with that look in his eyes that he always used to have when he looked at Valerie or Paulina, his freshman-year crush. Only now, it was directed at _her_. And it had all started with Tucker pestering her. "Like I said, he's been on my case about you for a while now."

A slow smile spread across his face. "So that's what he meant!"

Now it was Sam's turn to be confused. "What's what he meant?"

"Just before we left, Tucker told me I owed him, but wouldn't tell me why." Danny shook his head, grinning. "I really do owe him. Big time."

Sam smiled as well. "Yeah, I guess I owe him, too." She slipped the ring back on her finger and toyed with it, feeling a little nervous. No, scratch that. A _lot_ nervous.

Danny gave her a sheepish look, seeming a little skittish himself. "I hope you don't think it's weird, me giving that to you. I know you know I was originally gonna give it to Valerie, and I don't want you to think I'm just trying to repeat the same lame thing on you that I'd already planned for someone else or anything."

"It's not lame. I asked for it back, remember? And it does have my name on it." She wrinkled her nose, suddenly curious. "But that does sort of beg the question—why did you put my name on a ring you were gonna give to Valerie?"

He winced. "Yeah, about that. I… uh… sorta wasn't the one who had it engraved. That was my dad, actually."

"Your _dad_ engraved my name on his class ring?" She blinked. "Okaaaaay. Should I be creeped out by that?"

"What?" Danny grimaced. "No! Remember how he wanted to have that 'awkward father/son chat' when he found out I liked someone? Well, he kind of assumed it was you."

"And you were gonna give the ring to Valerie anyway? Didn't it ever occur to you that she might not appreciate having another girl's name engraved on it?"

"Uh… maybe she'd have thought it said 'Wes'?"

Sam crossed her arms. "Oh, you're _hilarious_. Really, Danny, what were you thinking?"

"I dunno. I guess I wasn't thinking at all. When my dad showed me the ring, he said that he'd given it to my mom because he thought she could be 'the girl he fights ghosts with.' He wanted to pass it on to me to give to someone special like that, and it seemed so perfect, since Valerie's a ghost fighter and everything—until he told me he'd had it engraved with _your_ name." Danny scratched the back of his head in a nervous gesture. "I just… I guess liked the idea so much, I sorta forgot about the engraving."

"You _forgot_?" She gaped at him. "Geez, Danny. You're lucky she dumped you before you gave it to her. She would've _killed_ you instead." Sam rolled her eyes, dumbfounded by how dense he could be sometimes.

Then, it hit her. "Wait. So, if your dad was the one who had the ring engraved…" It meant _she_ was the dense one. Looking down at the table, she cringed at having assumed too much. "I guess it wasn't really meant for me after all. It was just… a mistake."

"No, Sam, that's just it. It wasn't a mistake. It _was_ meant for you. I just didn't get that. I know it's totally lame, but—"

"Stop saying it's lame. It's not." It came out more abrupt than she'd intended, and she shifted in her chair, trying to clamp down on the emotions that were bubbling to the surface.

Reaching across the table, he covered her hand with his. "Listen, Sam. I'm sorry I'm not the one who figured it out first, and that I almost gave the ring to Valerie—"

She looked up at him, yanking her hand away. "Dammit, Danny! I don't care about Valerie. It's ancient history."

"Then why are you upset?"

"Because I thought you were _dead_!"

The words were out of her mouth before she even knew she was going to say them, and it stopped him cold. He blinked a few times, looking a little thrown. "What?"

"When the Fenton Jet crashed into that mountain, and we thought you were on it. It was only, like, thirty seconds between the crash and you showing up with all the ghosts, but that thirty seconds?" She could feel her armor cracking and fought to keep her voice from doing the same. "That was pretty much the worst thirty seconds of my life."

"I…" He closed his eyes. "I'm sorry."

"I'm not asking you to be sorry. I just… I need you to understand why it matters. I don't care that you were once gonna give this ring to someone else, or that you weren't the one who put my name in it. The only thing that matters is that you_ came back._ I asked you to bring it back, and you did. So don't say it's lame or stupid, because it means everything to me."

His eyes opened and met hers with a look so penetrating, they were almost glowing like they did when he was in ghost form. "That isn't what I meant. I'm talking about how it might _seem_. You're my best friend, so you don't just know my past history, you were _there_ for it. That makes everything weird and awkward, because it might seem like you're just getting someone else's leftovers. But I really wanted you to have this ring anyway, and not just because you asked for it back. That's what I was trying to explain, but you didn't let me finish."

A little taken aback by his intensity, she nodded. "Okay. I'm listening."

He let out a long, slow breath. "When my dad had it engraved with your name, I thought he was being clueless like usual. But really, it was _me_. I'm the one who didn't get it. I mean, we all know how much my dad misses, starting with the fact that his best friend was a psychotic, nut job half-ghost, and ending with the fact that his own son was one, too. Uh… the half-ghost part. Not the psychotic nut job part."

"That's debatable," she said dryly, ignoring the face he made in response. Then, she cocked her head. "Although, in your dad's defense, with you and Vlad being the only two half-ghosts in existence—"

"Three," he corrected her. When she gave him a puzzled look, he added, "There are three half-ghosts."

It took a moment before she remembered—Danny had a distant cousin, a girl Sam had only met briefly, who had somehow mysteriously ended up with ghost powers as well. Vlad and Danny had both acquired theirs through similar accidents, but she had no idea how his cousin had come to be half ghost. For some reason, Danny didn't like to talk about her, and Sam had never pressed. "Okay, three, then. The point is, no one figured out yours and Vlad's identities because no one knew there were secret identities to look _for_. You and Tuck and Jazz and I were the only humans who knew there was such a thing as a half-ghost." She quite deliberately pushed from her mind the more than seventy people—including Danny's parents and Valerie—who had learned his secret in Antarctica just two weeks ago. They'd all promised not to tell anyone, but seventy-some was such a _huge_ number, and with the government still bent on destroying all ghosts, not even caring that it was the ghosts who'd just saved the world…

Fortunately, Danny derailed that train of thought by continuing his story. "The thing is, the one thing my dad _didn't_ miss was my mom. He gave her that ring because he knew from the beginning that she was the one he'd end up with. So when he passed it on to me, he said I could give it to someone if she were special. And he was so sure he knew who it was who could be that special to me, he had the ring _engraved_. With _your name_. He _knew_, just like he knew about my mom, but I was afraid to see it because you're my best friend."

Sam offered him a small smile of understanding. "You weren't the only one who was afraid."

"But I wasn't afraid for any of the usual reasons people are scared of hooking up with their best friend. It wasn't really about risking our friendship, or losing what we already had, or anything like that. I know no matter what happens, we'll always be friends. We've been through too much not to be. It's just that…you're already one of the most important people in my life, and if I let myself _like_ like you, it would be huge. It _is_ huge. That's why I needed to give the ring back to you. It _was_ always meant for you, Sam, and I finally get that."

It took her several seconds to absorb what he was telling her, and then she was leaning across the table, pulling him into a kiss. He tensed in surprise, but just for a moment, before his lips yielded to hers. She let everything wash away in the slightly salty taste of his mouth, and the thrill of making him shiver by just barely flicking her tongue across his lower lip—until a cough from somewhere above them interrupted.

Parting, they looked up to see a gangly boy with a Mohawk and a nose ring holding two plates with sandwiches on them. "Pastrami and cheddar on a Kaiser roll, and grilled portobello mushroom on twelve-grain?"

They nodded, and he placed the sandwiches in front of them before taking the number-nine skull and walking away. When he was gone, Danny met Sam's gaze once more. "That was _so_ much better than a fake-out make-out." He sounded a little breathless.

She smiled. "Play your cards right, and it won't be the last." She took a moment to enjoy his glazed-eyed grin, feeling grateful for everything he was to her. "And thank you."

"No, thank _you_."

She rolled her eyes. "I'm not talking about the kiss, Romeo."

"Okay, then what are you thanking me for?"

_For coming back. For not being dead._

"For the ring."


	4. Danielle: Part I

** _May_   
_Two and a half years after the accident  
Age 16_ **

In the months that civil war raged in the Ghost Zone, it was not unusual for the Fentons to be awakened at all hours of the night by the Ghost Alarm, which alerted them whenever a ghost came into the Human World through the portal in their basement lab. Terrifying, but not unusual. More often than not, the ghost that tripped the alarm was an ally, looking for Danny. Occasionally, it was one of Vlad's minions, trying to take the fight to the Human World.

Only once was it Danny himself.

Jack had adjusted the Ghost Alarm so that Danny's specific ecto-signature wouldn't set it off, so Maddie was confused the night she and Jack raced down the stairs into the basement and saw nothing but Danny—in ghost form—standing with his three closest friends, Sam Manson, Tucker Foley, and Valerie Gray, near the open hatch of the Specter Speeder, the rocket-powered vehicle Jack had designed for travel in both the Human World and the Ghost Zone.

Jack looked around wildly, his short, salt-and-pepper hair sticking out at odd angles, his tent-like fuchsia nightshirt over his orange jumpsuit, and a Fenton Bazooka, one of the many anti-ghost weapons he'd invented, in his hands. "Where's the ghost?"

"No ghost." And yet, Danny still sounded frantic. "I set off the alarm to wake you up. She's hurt, Mom. She needs help, please…"

It was only then that Maddie saw the young girl, maybe thirteen or fourteen, cradled in Danny's arms. She had long, black hair that looked matted and caked with green ectoplasm, and she was clinging to Danny's neck, moaning and mumbling incoherently. Maddie put her hand to the girl's forehead, and was startled at how cold she was. "I think she's in shock, Danny, and possibly suffering from hypothermia. We need to call nine-one-one and get her to a hospital."

"No!" Her son—she'd finally gotten to the point where she saw him as her son even when he had that ghost-white hair and glowing, ecto-green eyes—looked more panicked than she could ever remember seeing him. "She can't go to a hospital. You have to help her!"

"I'm not a medical doctor, sweetie. And FentonWorks isn't a hospital," she added, referring to their gadget-inventing business that doubled as their family home. "She needs a doctor."

"She needs someone who understands _ghosts_. She's a half-ghost, Mom. Like me."

Maddie frowned. Another half-ghost? Weren't Danny and Vlad the only ones? Or wait… had Danny mentioned a third the night she'd found out about his powers? She couldn't remember.

Danny's voice pitched higher. "Please, you have to help her. I think she's… I think she's dying. Vlad… he did something to her. Some kind of experiment with ectoranium. He injected it into her, I think—"

Her eyes widened at this. Ectoranium was an anti-ghost element that was very dangerous to ghosts, although somehow prolonged exposure to it had mutated Vlad into something beyond an ordinary ghost instead of destroying him. "He _injected_ her with ectoranium?"

Danny nodded. "And she's already unstable to begin with. About a year ago, I had to give her some of that Ecto-Dejecto Dad created just to keep her from melting into a pool of green goop. This… it isn't the first time he's experimented on her."

Maddie exchanged glances with Jack over Danny's head, then she nodded at their son. "Okay. Let's get her up to the Op-Center."

* * *

The kids were all waiting in the living room when Maddie and Jack finally came downstairs. Danny—back in human form with his normal black hair and blue eyes—was sandwiched between Sam and Tucker, his face sickly pale. Maddie hoped it was just the contrast between Sam's black hair and clothes huddled against him on his right and Tucker's milk-chocolate complexion on his left that made it stand out so much, but even in his ghost form, she couldn't remember him ever looking quite so white. Sam had her hand on his back, rubbing it in a vain attempt to comfort him. Tucker, meanwhile, looked like he wasn't sure what to do with himself, so he was using that red beret he always wore to wipe his large, black-rimmed glasses as a way of keeping busy. Valerie was pacing the floor in front of them, still in that strange, skin-tight, red-and-black battle suit of hers, but with the helmet off so that Maddie could see the worry etched in her dark features. Her long, thick, black hair was pulled back from her face with a bright yellow headband that looked completely out of place in such a somber scene.

When Danny saw his parents, he jumped out of his seat, almost knocking Sam over in the process. "How is she? Is she okay?"

Maddie sighed. "She's not good. In order to keep the ectoranium from killing her, I had to flush her system with high concentrations of ecto-purifier. It's quite possible that her ghost powers could be permanently damaged, or even disabled. And you were right about her being more unstable than you are, but we can't figure out exactly why. You're going to have to tell us everything you know."

He nodded. "But she'll live?"

"I think so. She's probably going to have some long-term health issues, but I think she'll survive."

Danny sighed, his shoulders slumping in relief.

"Sweetie, do you know who her parents are? We need to contact them."

"Wow," Tucker said from behind Danny. "She really is an obscure cousin if your parents don't even know who she is."

Maddie frowned. "Cousin?"

"Yeah, that's a long story," Danny said quietly. "And she… she doesn't have any parents."

"Okay." Maddie's frown deepened. There was something Danny wasn't telling her about this girl, besides the fact that she wasn't really his cousin. "Then who's responsible for her?"

He looked at her like she'd punched him in the gut. "I am."

* * *

Maddie sent Danny's friends home and settled him in the kitchen with a mug of hot chocolate before she and Jack questioned him further. "I need you to tell me everything you know about this girl if I'm going to help her. Who is she?"

"Her name is Danielle. Dani for short. With an _i_. And she's… she's a clone. That's why she's unstable."

Maddie's eyes widened, and she felt something like a stone drop in her stomach. "A clone? Of whom?"

"Of me. Vlad made her." He paused. "I've never told anyone that before, not even Sam and Tucker. They think she's a distant cousin."

Maddie's gaze met Jack's. His eyes were dark and guarded, and he looked angrier than she'd ever seen in all the years she'd known him. She turned her attention back on Danny, carefully picking her words. "Are you sure, Danny? You're telling me Vlad made a _clone_ of you?"

He nodded. "He had this whole cloning project going about a year and a half ago. I guess he got tired of waiting for me to choose him over Dad and be his 'perfect half-ghost son,' so he decided to make a copy of me instead. There were others, but they were failures—all mutated and weird and more like zombies than ghosts. And they melted whenever I fought them. Just melted into puddles of green goop. Dani was the only one who was… I dunno. A real person. But she was unstable, too. Not as bad as the others, but still. She kept… she would start to melt, too, whenever she used her powers. She took off into the Ghost Zone and was okay for a few months, but it was getting worse, so she came looking for me again, hoping I could help her. That was about a year ago, right when Dad was doing those experiments with that Ecto-Dejecto stuff he came up with that was supposed to make ghosts weaker, but it was making them stronger instead. So I took some from the lab and gave it to her."

"Danny!" Maddie shook her head, aghast. "You're not even a scientist, let alone a doctor. You should never, _ever_ take chemicals from our lab and just use them on people! You could have killed her!"

"I know, Mom, but she was already dying. It was… I can't even explain how horrible it was. She was literally _melting_, and the only thing that stabilized her and brought her back was the Ecto-Dejecto. It was the only thing I could think of to do."

Jack put a hand on his shoulder. "You probably saved her life, Dan. You just… you need to understand that your mother and I have been studying this stuff for years, and we—well, _I_ mostly—still screw up on a regular basis. You can't just experiment on people."

"I know. That's Vlad's department."

The bitterness in his voice broke Maddie's heart. "Okay, now let's back up here a minute. You know for a fact Vlad created her from your DNA?"

He nodded.

"About a year and a half ago."

Another nod.

She looked at Jack. "That would explain why she's unstable. He accelerated her growth, completing about a dozen years of development in less than a year. I doubt a full human would survive, but someone with ghost powers…"

"Would melt down into basic ectoplasm," Jack finished. "Green goop."

Danny cocked his head. "It's not just because she's a clone?"

Maddie chewed on her lip, again choosing her words carefully. "Clones aren't created in some sort of photocopying process. They're genetic duplicates of their hosts, but they need to grow and develop just like any other human being, from the embryo stage on through adulthood. If all Vlad had done was cloned you then, depending on when he actually began the process, and factoring in nine months gestation, we'd have anywhere from a nine-month-old to an eighteen-month-old baby with your DNA. But I'm guessing that wasn't good enough for Vlad. He wanted a copy of you, as you are. You were fifteen then, so what he wanted was a fifteen-year-old."

"Dani's not that old. She was, like, twelve when I met her. But there was another clone that looked my age. It melted, too."

Shuddering, Maddie pressed on. "Yes, Vlad obviously stopped the accelerated growth when she hit twelve, which might be why she was more stable than the others. The rapid growth is a very shaky process, and twelve years all at once is a tremendous amount, but it's better than fifteen. That's part of the reason that human cloning is so dicey. Not to mention unethical."

"So… is she gonna keep aging that fast?"

"No. Once you stop taking the hormone, you go back to aging at a normal rate. She should continue to grow and develop just like any other thirteen- or fourteen-year-old."

Hope lit up Danny's eyes. "Then… you think she's gonna be okay?"

"I don't know, sweetie. She almost certainly won't be able to use all her ghost powers, or morph into ghost form the way you do. But she should be able to live as a human. She might even retain some of her powers, the way you can float or go intangible or invisible even in your human form."

Danny nodded, the hope fading back into misery. "This is all my fault. She's my responsibility, and I completely blew it off. She was, like, twelve when I let her go off on her own into the Ghost Zone the first time I met her, and maybe thirteen the last time. And if what you're saying about her accelerated growth is true, then she's not even really that old. She'd really only have been barely _one_ then. But she was on her own in the Ghost Zone, and because of that, Vlad got a hold of her—again—and experimented on her—again. I think…" He looked up at them. "I think he's trying to figure out if there's a way to give me the same powers the ectoranium gave him, and he was testing it out on her. He's always treated her like she's expendable."

Maddie felt her blood boil, and she saw Jack clench his jaw so hard she was afraid it might shatter. "Danny, you are not responsible for what _Vlad_ does. Ever." She spat his name—it was impossible for her to say it with anything other than utter contempt anymore. And to think, she'd once counted him a friend. "Don't you worry about Danielle. She's our responsibility now."

Danny frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Exactly what she said, son." Jack slapped a hand down on Danny's shoulder once more. "Don't worry about her. We'll take care of everything. You just get some sleep. It's three o'clock in the morning, and you've already missed enough school lately."

"Can I see her first?"

Maddie nodded. "She's asleep, but you can sit with her. Or sleep in the room if you like. But do try and get some sleep, okay, sweetie?"

She ruffled his hair, and he scowled and pulled away from her, then abruptly reached over and hugged her. "Thanks, Mom. For everything."

She blinked, fighting the tears that wanted to fill her eyes.

* * *

They stared at each other in silence until they were sure Danny was well out of earshot. Then Jack stood up, picked up one of the kitchen chairs, and hurled it across the room.

Maddie jumped. "Jack—"

Normally, her husband's mammoth size, coupled with his usual childlike exuberance, gave him an almost teddy-bear-like quality. When he was angry, however, he looked more like a grizzly bear out for blood. "And I felt bad about leaving Vlad in space during the asteroid crisis. I should have torn him apart, is what I should've done! That… that… sick, twisted, sadistic…" He trailed off, as if at a loss for words foul enough to describe his former best friend. "And it's my fault, Maddie. I'm the one who let him into Danny's life, because I wanted to ease my guilty conscience over a stupid accident twenty years ago. And he does _this_. To our _son_."

"You didn't know."

But _she'd_ known. Not the extent to which Vlad was manipulating and… _violating_ their son, but she'd known he was in love with her and obsessed with Danny. That alone should have been enough for her to make sure he didn't get within fifty miles of their family. Despite what she knew, however, she'd never said a word. For Jack's sake, she'd stayed silent, because the renewed friendship he'd thought he'd had with Vlad had meant so much to him. And it was their son who'd paid the price.

Jack was not about to let himself off the hook, however. "I didn't know only because I didn't want to know. Vlad—" He shook his head, looking as if he was swallowing his own bile. "That girl is no clone. Not of Danny, anyway."

Maddie sighed. "We don't know anything for certain, not without a DNA test—"

"She's not his clone. Clones are genetic duplicates. Bio-engineered identical twins. And maybe you noticed—she's a girl."

"There are variations in sex development, including females with XY chromosomes. Maleness is determined by the SRY gene, which is usually on the Y chromosome, but not always. It's possible she has something like Swyer Syndrome, and has XY chromosomes, but a mutated or missing SRY gene. The cloning process could even have caused it."

Jack's eyes narrowed. "That's not what happened, and you know it. You know exactly what kinds of genetic experimentations Vlad was researching in college. He was interested in way more than just cloning."

Nodding, Maddie closed her eyes. She didn't really believe Dani had Swyer Syndrome, or any other type of SRY-related genetic anomaly. Girls with Swyer Syndrome had no ovaries and consequently experienced delayed puberty. Dani, in contrast, had clearly already hit puberty and seemed to be developing normally for a girl of thirteen or fourteen. Although, who knew what the accelerated growth could do?

She looked up at her husband. "We need to do a DNA test, and then we'll know. But, Jack. No matter what, that girl is our responsibility. If she's Danny's clone, it's the same as if she's our child. If she's… well, it doesn't matter. She needs someone to take care of her no matter who she is. We owe it to her. And to Danny."

"That was never a question, Maddie. You know that."

"And whatever we find out, we tell Danny the truth. No more secrets in this family."

He nodded, but they both knew that their lives were built upon a foundation of secrets, from the moment Danny first had the accident. Maybe even from the moment Vlad had had _his_ accident twenty years earlier. Whatever they found out about Danielle, they would tell Danny the truth, and Jazz, too. But it still would be just one more secret to hide from the world.


	5. The Ghost of Christmas Present: Part II

_ **Amity Park  
December 22, 4:50 pm CST** _

For someone who'd always claimed he liked to be able to live life on the sidelines, Danny had taken to celebrity very well. It didn't really surprise Sam. He was friendly, good-natured, and charming. He knew how to laugh at himself and how to put others at ease. Somewhere along the way, the awkward, shy, and desperate-to-be-liked boy she'd known in high school had grown into a poised and self-confident man. While he'd never relished the limelight, he certainly hadn't withered in it during his brief stint as a celebrity, either.

Now that Sam was the center of all the attention that really belonged to him, she found it difficult and draining. She didn't have his chipper disposition, nor his ability to charm and win people over. She was opinionated and brutally blunt, and while these were qualities that served her well as an activist who knew how to stir up a crowd with just enough outrage to motivate into action, they were not qualities that suited her current role as the grieving mother-to-be. Everywhere she went, people wanted to touch her. They wanted to talk with her, offer encouragement and kind words about Danny, and to ask her how the baby was. She tried to take it as compassion. People cared, and she needed them to care if she was going to have any success at all in her legal and political battles. But she wasn't Danny, who could easily assume the best in others unless he had a reason not to. She was suspicious by nature, and she tended to believe that most of the interest in her was less than noble. She could see the questions in their eyes left unasked. _Is the baby a freak? An abomination? Is it even Danny's?_

She wasn't being fair, she knew, at least not when she was home. The residents of Amity Park were almost uniformly supportive. They practically worshiped Danny Phantom, and they viewed the impending birth of his son with the anticipation one might expect for the birth of the Christ child. Tucker had even made a crack about it when he'd been home for Thanksgiving. _Good thing you're not due until March. Can you imagine if the baby were born at Christmas? To a Jewish mother? All you'd need is an unexpected trip, a city full of no vacancies, and a manger, and you could start your own religion. _ She'd slugged him for it, but it was nothing that hadn't already occurred to her.

Away from Amity Park, however—especially in Washington—it was a different story. The country was fiercely divided, and for every adoring Danny Phantom fan she ran across, she could find an equally ardent detractor who was convinced she was carrying some sort of demon spawn, and that the most prudent course of action would be to shove her down a flight of stairs and hope like hell she miscarried.

Sam didn't go to Washington without a bodyguard anymore.

But for all the speculation, only a select few knew for sure that the baby most definitely had the same genetic anomalies as his father. The results of the amniocentesis she'd had in her sixteenth week of pregnancy had been kept strictly confidential—not that Sam had needed the amnio to tell her that her baby was part ghost. The only thing she'd found out from that test that she hadn't already known was that it was a boy. So far, she and Dr. Mihashi had successfully navigated all attempts at warrants and court orders to release her medical records, thus keeping the rest of the world guessing as to whether or not the baby had ghost powers. Not that the bastards didn't keep trying to find out for sure.

_Speaking of…_ She sighed as she came into the living room, throwing her coat across the back of a chair and flipping on the TV to C-SPAN to check on the latest efforts to shore up the anti-ghost code before Congress changed hands in January. She grimaced when she saw that they were still in session under quorum call and, according to the scrolling text on the bottom of the screen, probably would be going through the night in order to finish before Christmas Eve so they wouldn't have to reconvene on December 26. Tucker was convinced the majority party was doing it on purpose, trying to wear everyone down so they could slip in something before they lost the majority in both houses when the new Congress convened on January 4. Sam certainly wouldn't put it past them, and now Tuck would have to push his flight back even further. _I should send the Learjet, _she thought._ They'll never get a flight out of D.C. tomorrow evening or, heaven forbid, Christmas Eve._

She muted the TV, then flipped on the MP3 player, which had holiday music programmed into it. Despite being both Jewish and a goth, she had always loved Christmas and all its trappings, an affection she'd inherited from her grandparents. From the time she was a little girl, Grandma Ida and Granddad Ben had instilled in her an appreciation for not only her own faith traditions, but for the many good things that other religions and cultures had to offer as well. She'd been only eight when her grandfather had died, but her grandmother had continued to remind her every year, right up until her own death last March, that differences were something to be celebrated, not feared. It was a belief that Sam tried to live out in every aspect of her life, and while the mixture of Christmas and Hanukkah decorations around her home and the Christmas carols that played on her stereo all through December primarily represented the blending of hers and Danny's different lives and backgrounds, it also was her way of embracing all that her grandparents had taught her.

And this year, despite her loss, she clung to that with a white-knuckled grip. They'd taken Danny from her—she wasn't about to let them take anything else she loved.

Kicking off her boots, she headed for the kitchen to check her voice mail. Twenty-seven messages since this morning. Not as high a volume as before the election, and it was sure to increase again when their case finally went to court in January, but still. _Twenty-seven._ The bulk of them were from the media, and she skipped through each of these without listening. Not that they weren't important, but she'd let Paulina go through them and decide which ones she needed to attend to personally and which ones were better left to someone else.

Mixed in were a few calls from people she actually knew, including one from her mother. _Hello, Sam. I hope you're well. Your father and I haven't seen you since the first night of Hanukkah, unless you count the sound bites on TV. I just wanted to make sure you're taking care of yourself… and the baby. Give me a call. Or… I guess we'll see you at the vigil on Christmas Eve._

Sam blinked in surprise. Her parents were going to the vigil? Things had been so awkward the first night of Hanukkah, not only because of the baby, but also because it was the first holiday season since her grandmother's death. With neither Grandma nor Danny there for moral support—not to mention the pain both their absences caused—it had been a tense evening, and Sam had expected her parents to avoid events like the vigil after that. Not that they were against the work she was doing, but they'd never been among Danny's fans, either, and weren't exactly thrilled at the prospect of a half-ghost grandson. She found it ironic that they were still so ambivalent about Danny, considering the fact that he was the one who had always pushed her to be more accepting of them. In his absence, and without her grandmother giving her reason to visit, she had trouble finding the energy to keep in touch with them at all. She knew she should call her mother, but she didn't think she'd be able to muster up the fortitude before Christmas Eve.

Two more messages from the press, then one from Jazz. _Hey, Sam. Mom said you had a doctor's appointment today, so I wanted to check in. And I wanted to make sure you're still staying over at their place after the vigil. I made them swear a blood oath that they wouldn't drag out the old Christmas argument, so don't let that scare you off or anything. I'll call you later tonight, okay? Don't work too hard. _

She skipped a few more messages from the media before coming to one from Rob Collins, her foundation's General Counsel, calling in with his daily progress report. Most of it was nothing new, except for a conference call that had been scheduled for seven o'clock the next morning with Miguel Sanchez, a D.C.-area lawyer who had done some consulting work that helped get the fledgling Human-Ecto Alliance off the ground back before Sam had even started law school. She made a mental note to call Rob back later and find out the details to see if she needed to be in on the call, although she suspected anything that was important enough for Miguel to request a seven AM conference call two days before Christmas would be something she'd want to hear.

After Rob, came… _Hey, Sam, it's Dash. Wanted to find out how the doctor's appointment went, make sure everything's good with the little Dash-ster._

Sam rolled her eyes. She was _so_ not naming the baby "Dash."

_And I wanted to see if there was a good time to drop by tomorrow. Patrick went on another baking binge, experimenting with one of those damned vegan Christmas cookie recipes again. He made, like, a bazillion of the suckers, and if you don't take them off my hands, _I'm_ gonna be stuck eating them._ _So, give me a call._

Translation: Dash and Patrick wanted an excuse to come over and check up on her. Again.

Last was Paulina. _Okay, you're not in, and you're not answering your cell. Oh, wait! Today was the doctor's appointment, wasn't it? Did you get any good ultrasound pictures of Baby Pauly? _

Sam grunted. She would sooner name him after Dash.

_Anyway, I'll make this quick. Everything's set for the candlelight vigil on Christmas Eve, and then I'm gonna spend the first week of January in D.C. schmoozing senators. I know you're going down for the swearing in, and I need to know how much time you're planning on staying there. I haven't decided if it would be better for you to be in Washington or Amity Park the last couple of weeks before the court date. The whole expectant mother thing plays really well, but your sour attitude could peel the paint off the White House. Yeah, on second thought, you definitely need to stick to the grass roots and all the boring legal mumbo-jumbo, and let me do the schmoozing. Maybe a day or two of photo ops, and that's it. We'll talk about it after Christmas._

Sam sighed. _And people think _I'm_ blunt._ But she wasn't wrong, and Sam knew it. Paulina knew how to turn on the charm when she wanted to, and she enjoyed the attention, whereas Sam only put up with it because she had no choice—everyone wanted to talk to her.

She shook her head at the irony. _How the heck did I end up one of the popular kids?_


	6. Drabble: Enmity

_ **September  
One month after the accident  
Age 14** _

It wasn't jealousy that turned Sam's general disdain for Paulina into a very specific loathing after their first high school dance. She and Danny were just friends, after all (never mind that spark of… _something_ she'd felt during their one dance together.) And while she'd been annoyed that he would crush on someone so… _cookie-cutter_, if Paulina made him happy, Sam was willing to make an effort.

It was only when she found out Paulina was _using_ him that she really lost it. The shallowness and the narcissism she could get past. But hurting Danny? That she could never forgive.


	7. Paulina: Part I

_ **August  
Three years after the accident  
Age 17** _

"I am so dead. Totally and completely dead." Danny looked at Tucker, hoping for some help, but his friend merely shrugged.

"Yeah, dude. You're dead."

"Thanks for your support." He leaned forward, letting his head bang down onto the tabletop in front of him. "How did this happen?"

"How does anything happen to you? A ghost attacks someone, and you beat it up."

Danny sighed. It really had been that simple. Sort of.

It had started on what had to be the hottest day of the summer, so when Sam's parents had made the unexpected—and unprecedented—offer for Sam and her friends to spend the day lounging at the Amity Country Club pool, of course Danny and Tucker jumped at the chance. (Valerie was in Chicago visiting her grandparents.) And it was no surprise that Paulina would be there, not that he'd made a point of noticing. Paulina hadn't really been on his radar much since freshman year. He might have taken a moment or two to appreciate how she looked in her pink two-piece bathing suit, which contrasted nicely with her bronze skin and long, sleek brown hair, but then his attention was back on Sam and the really intriguing black corset-looking swimsuit she was wearing under her long, bat-cape cover-up. He was too absorbed in trying to coax her out of the latter so he could get a better view of the former to give Paulina a second thought.

Until the ghost attacked.

He didn't know why it went for Paulina, and he didn't really think much about it at the time. He just found a private place to go ghost, went after the big and somewhat slobbery blob of green ectoplasm until he'd managed to suck it into a ghost-trapping Fenton Thermos, and then he was back in human form, horsing around with Sam and Tucker in the shallow end.

The second ghost forty-five minutes later was a little more suspicious. Sam swore up and down it wasn't her. "I've stricken the word 'wish' from my vocabulary after the last time."

After the third ghost, Paulina's father got involved. A mountain of a man with arms bigger than Danny's thighs, he grabbed Danny's arm while he was still ghost form, screwing the cap onto yet another Thermos. "You're Danny Phantom. The ghost kid that saved the world from that asteroid last summer."

"Uh… yeah. That's me."

"You know why these ghosts keep coming after my baby girl?"

"No, sir, but I intend to find out."

"Good. And in the meantime, I want you to stay by my daughter's side and keep her safe."

"I… wait. What?"

He leaned in closer. "You have a hearing problem, ghost? I want you to stay by my daughter's side, day and night. But not too close, if you catch my drift. You just keep her safe until you figure out why these ghosts keep attacking her. I'll pay you, of course."

"You'll what?"

"I'll pay you. Double your going rate."

"My going rate? Er… I don't take money to help people."

He smiled, although it looked a little more like an animal baring its teeth. "Good. Then you'll protect her for free."

Then, Paulina came up from behind, slipping an arm into Danny's. "Of course he will, Papá. He's a hero!"

"I… I mean… of course I'll protect you, but…"

"Good." Her father nodded. "Then it's settled. Baby, go change your clothes, and then the Ghost Boy can take you home."

"Yes, Papá." She winked at Danny. "I need to shower first, so give me half an hour, and then you can meet me in the main lobby."

That had been five minutes ago, and now Danny, back in human form, was sitting at one of the poolside tables with Tucker, trying to figure out how he was going to explain to Sam that he would be staying at Paulina's side—day and night.

"You do realize the irony here?" Tucker shook his head. "You would've killed for this three years ago."

"And now I'm gonna _be_ killed instead."

"You're kidding, right?" Sam was back, and Danny's head shot up. She was returning from the snack bar with two fudgesicles and a cherry popsicle. She handed the fudgesicles to the boys. "You can't possibly mean those lame excuses for ghosts that have been attacking all day."

"Uh… not exactly." Danny looked at Tucker, who merely shrugged in sympathy.

Sam looked back and forth between the two of them. "What?"

"Uh… well… the thing is, Sam…" And then he dove right in and told her the whole story.

He hadn't really known what to expect. Sam's temper was volatile and somewhat unpredictable. But nothing could have prepared him for the reaction he got.

She started laughing.

And not just a little titter of amusement, either. She nearly stopped breathing and fell out of her chair, she was laughing so hard.

"You think this is _funny_?"

She managed to get herself under enough control to take a breath and climb back into her seat. "Well, _yeah_."

"You do understand what I'm saying, don't you? I have to spend the next however many hours with _Paulina_. Day and _night_, her father said."

"And you don't see the amusement? She's still totally crushing on Danny Phantom."

"I know! Which is kinda why I thought you'd be mad."

"Mad? Why would I be mad?"

Tucker and Danny both arched their eyebrows at her, and she gave them an innocent look. "What?"

"Sam." Tucker leaned forward. "You punched a locker and broke a mailbox when they went out that time Kitty was overshadowing her."

"Well, yeah, but that was almost three years ago, and Danny liked her then. It's totally different now. I mean, come on! What part of her trotting out all her best tricks only to be repeatedly rejected would I not find entertaining? And you will be rejecting her." It wasn't a statement so much as a directive.

"Well, _duh_."

"Then there's no problem."

"Right. No problem."

"Ugh." Sam was now looking at her hand. "This popsicle is melting all over me. I'm gonna go get a napkin."

As soon as she got up, Danny grabbed Tucker by the shirt. "You have got to help me! Find out why those ghosts are after her and get me out of this nightmare!"

Tucker pushed Danny off of him and shook his head. "Yeah, spending all that time with one of the hottest girls in the school who just happens to have a crush on your alter ego. Poor you."

"Just find out what's going on."

* * *

Three more ghost attacks and about seventy-nine text messages with Tucker later, and he still didn't know why Paulina was under attack. But he did know that if he had to spend one more minute listening to her whine about the Specter Deflector he'd made her wear—or reminding her yet again not to touch him while wearing it because she was zapping him into oblivion with the thing—he was going to strangle her himself and save the attacking blobs the trouble.

They were holed up in her attic game room, which was almost as tricked out as Sam's basement, so it wasn't like they were lacking for entertainment. But she'd insisted on putting some stupid chick flick on the plasma screen TV and was trying to get him to sit next to her on the overstuffed pink loveseat. "Why don't you just sit down and relax," she purred, patting the spot next to her. "Don't you think you can protect me better if you're right by my side?"

"Uh, no." He crossed his arms, keeping a safe distance by floating in the air near the ceiling.

"Why not?"

"'Cause one: the Specter Deflector will shock me. Again. And I can't protect you if I'm dead."

"You're a ghost. Aren't you already dead?"

He clenched his teeth to keep from grunting in irritation. "Okay, I can't protect you if I'm unconscious, then. And two: if your dad catches me within ten feet of you doing anything other than fending off one of those snot balls, the Specter Deflector will be the least of my worries."

She snorted and waved a dismissive hand. "Oh, don't worry about Papá. Come on, just sit down and relax."

"I'm perfectly comfortable up here."

She crossed her arms and slumped back in her seat, pouting, and for the life of him, he couldn't remember why he'd once liked her so much. Well, okay, that low-cut pink tank top and denim short-shorts she was wearing went a long way towards reminding him, but still. Hotness only went so far. And even putting aside how self-absorbed and high-maintenance she was, her flawless, magazine-cover look seemed so… _commonplace_ next to Sam. She was like a carbon copy of every other girl in school, wearing the same clothes and the same hairstyles and the same expensive makeup from the same department store. Sam was beautiful in a way that wasn't like anyone else he knew, and he hadn't realized until just now how much he loved that about her.

After a moment, Paulina clicked off the movie and looked up at him, the pouting expression gone. Instead she looked more… real. "Would you just tell me one thing? What's wrong with me?"

He frowned. "What do you mean what's wrong with you? Nothing's wrong with you."

"Right. That's why you're floating on the ceiling like I have a contagious disease."

He sighed, letting himself drift down to the couch to settle on the arm. "Nothing's wrong with you. You're a gorgeous girl. Pretty much any guy in your school would kill himself to get a shot with you."

"Any guy except you."

"I'm already a ghost, remember?"

She gave him a look that actually seemed hurt. "I'm serious."

He let out another sigh. "Nothing's wrong with you, okay? You just… come on a little strong, that's all. You seriously could have just about any guy at school, so why waste your time chasing ghosts?"

"Because I don't want just any guy at school. They're all so… ugh. They're so ordinary. Not like you."

"Well, I'm really not looking to get involved with anyone."

She gave him a sad smile. "Oh, I get it. You have a girlfriend." He didn't answer, and she scowled. "Is it that Ghost Hunter girl?"

Chewing his lip, he considered how best to answer that. There'd already been rumors of him dating various girls around Amity Park, and he liked to discourage them as best he could. The rumor about him and Sam had been disastrous, seeing as she was supposed to be dating Danny Fenton, and the one about him and his own sister was too gross to even think about, at least not without a barf bag handy. The current flavor of the month tended towards linking him with "the Ghost Hunter Girl," which wasn't the worst thing in the world, since he and Valerie both knew exactly where they really stood. Still, he preferred to keep the speculation about his love life to a minimum.

Trying to nudge her onto a different track, he asked, "What makes you think that if I were dating, I'd date a human? Why wouldn't it be a ghost, like me?"

"You fight the other ghosts. I always assumed you liked humans better."

"I like some ghosts just fine. I just don't like when ghosts mess with people just because they can. Or when people mess with people just because they can, for that matter."

If she caught even a hint of the irony, it didn't show. "So, is she pretty? Your girlfriend?"

"I didn't say I had a girlfriend."

"You didn't say you didn't." She flipped her hair over her shoulder in a patented Paulina move. "You sure you couldn't do better?"

He sighed. There was no way to answer that question without digging himself into a hole so deep he wouldn't even be able to fly himself back out. Instead, he tried changing tracks again. "Okay, let me ask you a question. Why do you like me? You don't even know me."

"Of course I know you! You're a hero! You've saved my life more times than I can count, and you've even saved the whole _world_."

"But that's just… an image. It's a bunch of stuff I can do that other people can't, so I do it. But it doesn't say anything about who I really am, or what I like or care about. If you actually knew me, you might think… I dunno. That I'm just some loser geek with loser friends that you wouldn't want to spend two seconds with."

She snorted. "I doubt that."

"You'd be surprised."

"Oh, come on. Look at you! That white hair, those incredible green eyes, and that _body_! You could never be a loser."

He shook his head. "But that's still just an image. It's all surface stuff that doesn't mean anything. I don't want to be just the hero guy with the cool hair, or some accessory that goes well with your wardrobe and would up your stock with the right crowd."

And then he realized exactly what he was saying, and he suddenly felt awful for the months he'd spent crushing on her without thinking of her as anything more than a picture to hang in his locker or have on his computer desktop. Leaning forward, he rested his elbows on his knees. "You know, I once had a crush on a girl. She was totally hot, and everyone wanted her, which is probably why she wouldn't give me the time of day."

"Are you for real? She must be blind!"

He grunted at the irony. "Let's just say, where I come from, I'm not exactly high up on the food chain. I'm more like the plankton that gets eaten by the little fish who get eaten by the big fish."

"I find that hard to believe."

"Well, believe it. But anyway, I always thought this girl was being really unfair to me, not giving me a shot without even taking the time to get to know me. But I just realized something. I was being unfair to her, too. I thought it was a compliment, crushing on her like that, but all it was was… reducing her to an image. I wasn't taking the time to get to know her any more than she was taking the time to get to know me. I just wanted something pretty to make everyone notice me, so that the big fish would think I could be a big fish, too. And that's just stupid and wrong."

"Why? What's wrong with wanting someone pretty?"

"Is that really what you want? Someone who only wants you 'cause you're pretty?"

"It's better than nobody wanting you at all."

"But it isn't _real_. It's nothing but a cheap knockoff, and you are so not the kind of person who would settle for a knockoff. You should hold out for someone who's really crazy about you."

"Like you are about whoever this mystery girl is?" She made a face like she'd tasted something disgusting.

"You deserve that much, don't you think?"

"Who is she?"

He crossed his arms.

"I promise I won't claw her eyes out or anything. Well, maybe a little."

He couldn't help but smile at the mental image that a catfight between Paulina and Sam brought to mind. But there was no question who would win. He'd seen Sam dispatch too many ghosts to doubt her ability to take down one human cheerleader. "Paulina, you—"

A cold, blue-tinged mist escaped from his mouth, and he was up off the couch in an instant. "Hold that thought. Or, actually, _I'll_ hold that thought," he added, as another green slimeball phased in through the wall.

It took him about half a minute to get it into a Fenton Thermos. "What the heck _are_ these things, and why do they keep attacking you?"

* * *

He waited until she went to the bathroom before checking his text messages again. Finally, there was the one he'd been waiting for, from Sam this time. She'd done some research online and had found the kind of ghost that had been targeting Paulina.

"They're called Thralls," he told Paulina when she got back from the bathroom. "They're kind of like slave ghosts, and are controlled by some kind of 'rune stone.' Control the stone, and you control the Thralls, and they have to do whatever you want."

"So who would want to use a bunch of ghosts to go after me?"

"You tell me. Who has a grudge against you?"

"How should I know? Half the girls at Casper High are jealous because their boyfriends have wandering eyes when I'm around. But it's summer vacation, so it's not like I'm seeing everyone like I do at school." Her eyes narrowed. "Oh! That goth geek! She was at the club today when the attacks started. She can't stand me, and she loves all this spooky stuff."

"It's not her. She's, like, organized protests against the anti-ecto laws. I don't think she'd be okay with enslaving ghosts. Or any creature."

"How can you be so sure? She and I did have it out last year when everyone thought she was cheating on that loser boyfriend of hers with you. As if!"

Danny crossed his arms. "It's not her. Moving on."

She scowled. "Well, I don't know who else would have it in for me in the middle of the summer. If it were Homecoming, or Prom, or—" She stopped, her eyes widening. "Cheerleading camp! It starts next week, and I'm a shoe-in for squad captain this year!"

"Cheerleading camp?" He gave her a skeptical look. "You don't really think someone would attack you over—"

She put her hands on her hips and gave him a look.

"Right. That's exactly the kind of thing someone would attack you over. Who's your biggest competition?"

"Amber Cross. That little shrew has been trying to take over since middle school."

"Maybe we should go have a little talk with Amber."

* * *

They were a block away from Amber's house when Danny exhaled another stream of mist into the air. This time, however, instead of a single blob-like Thrall ghost, an entire horde of them attacked from all directions. Danny put up a shield around Paulina, then dove into the mass. Some of them he was able to pick off easily with his ghost ray, but the sheer numbers made them difficult to fight. Three of them ganged up to hit him from behind, sending him crashing face-first into the sidewalk. He tasted the coppery tang of blood as his lip scraped along the sidewalk—funny how even though his blood turned ectoplasmic green when he was in ghost form, it still tasted like blood—but Paulina screamed, and he was back up to find a mass of ghosts swarming the shield that was protecting her.

"Sorry, guys, but I don't think the lady's into green slime. What do you think this is, a Nickelodeon show?"

He used a blast of ice to freeze them off of the shield, sucking a few more of them up into a Thermos before he got overrun once more. Another surge of ice, and he was free. But the shield around Paulina wouldn't last forever, and he realized the only way to stop the Thralls would be to get the rune stone away from Amber, if she really was the one controlling them. "Paulina, take off the Specter Deflector! I gotta get you out of here!"

"Finally!" With great joy, she yanked the belt off of her waist and threw it onto the ground.

He managed to clear another layer of snot-ghosts off the shield, then disengaged it so that he could grab Paulina. "Need a lift?" he asked, sweeping her up into his arms.

"I thought you'd never ask!" She clung to his neck, and he turned them both invisible as more Thralls came at them. He started to make a run for Amber's house, but behind him, the Thralls began terrorizing random people on the street now that their target had disappeared on them.

Cursing under his breath, he set Paulina down on the flat rooftop of Amber's row house. "I'll be right back." He formed another shield around her, then went back into the fray, putting himself between several of the ghosts and a couple that was screaming and covering their heads with their arms. The Thralls immediately redirected their attention to him, and he smirked at them. "Miss me, guys?" Then they were all over him once more, slamming him to the ground hard enough to knock the wind out of him, but he blasted them back with another freeze ray. Now that he had their attention, he sped back to Paulina. They followed, but weren't as fast, and he was able to grab her, turn them both intangible, and take her straight down through the roof into the house, with the Thralls not far behind.

They went through three rooms before they found Amber in a bedroom decorated with Casper High Raven banners and cheerleading posters. She was sitting on her bed, clutching a black stone carved with something that looked like stick figures. Underneath the carvings, there was an image of the Thralls attacking, as if the thing were some sort of crystal ball. She was so surprised when Danny and Paulina materialized right in front of her, she dropped the stone, and Danny was able to kick it away from her. It went flying, and she dove after it, but before she could get to it, he blasted it into dust with his ghost ray. As soon as the stone was destroyed, the Thralls all disappeared.

He folded his arms across his chest and glared at Amber. "Didn't your mother ever tell you not to play with ancient, ghost-controlling rocks?"

* * *

Paulina seemed unusually subdued as he carried her back to her house and deposited her gently in the attic game room. "We've now reached our final destination. Thank you for flying Air Phantom."

She didn't so much as crack a smile, but instead reached out her hand to touch his lip. "You're hurt."

Reflexively, he jerked his head back. "It's nothing." He'd stop at Sam's before heading home. She was well-practiced at patching up his scrapes and bruises. "You shouldn't have trouble with those ghosts anymore. Although, I'd watch my back with Amber, if I were you."

"Right. So…" She looked down. "I suppose you'll be taking off."

"Well, yeah. You're safe now."

"My hero," she said, but there was an ironic edge to it. She sighed. "I guess you're pretty much everyone's hero, aren't you?"

He wasn't sure what to say to that. "I just want to use what I've been given to make a difference."

She looked back up at him. "But there must be people who stand out from the rest. People you'd do anything for, not just because you want to make a difference, but because they're important to you personally, right?"

He realized she was talking about their earlier conversation, hinting at the girlfriend she suspected but he would neither confirm nor deny. And she was right, but not just about Sam. He thought of Tucker, and Jazz. His parents. Valerie. Danielle. While it was true that he'd put his life on the line for anyone who was in danger, these were the people for whom no risk was too great. The ones he couldn't even contemplate losing because the hole they would leave in him would be too gaping. "Yeah, I suppose there are."

"But I'm not one of them, am I? That's what you were trying not to say before."

He didn't answer her, but he could see in her face that he didn't need to. She already knew.


	8. Dash

__ **January  
Five and a half years after the accident  
Age 19**

"Business must be pretty good for your parents if they're hiring more help."

Danny shrugged as he opened the front door to his parents' house and ushered Sam inside. "Well, yeah. Things have been good for FentonWorks ever since we got all that publicity after the asteroid, but I don't think them hiring someone is as much a question of business being good as it is the fact that it's an election year. The ghost/anti-ghost rhetoric is heating up, so having some extra security is just smart, especially since I'm only around on weekends and school breaks."

She arched an eyebrow at him, but didn't say anything. She didn't need to. They both knew that his parents were more concerned about extra security when he _was_ around, especially after his narrow escape two months ago. The election just made for a good excuse.

Stuffing her hands into her coat pockets, Sam stamped her boots on the doormat to shake off the snow. Danny did the same to his sneakers, and then they both headed towards the kitchen. "You just want some coffee, or something more exotic?" he asked her. "My parents got an espresso machine for Christmas."

"Has your dad messed with it?"

"Uh…"

"Yeah. I think I'll take a hot cider, if you have any."

He grinned at her. "Wise choice. I'm pretty sure I can come up with something that's a little less scary than—" Danny stopped short as he entered the kitchen. _"Dash Baxter?"_

The muscular blond seated at Danny's kitchen table looked up at him. His hair was slightly longer than the flat top Danny remembered from high school, and he was wearing a stylish leather duster instead of that ubiquitous letterman's jacket, but otherwise, he looked the same. Dash Baxter, Danny's high school nemesis, sitting at his kitchen table.

A look of recognition registered in his eyes, and then a wide grin broke out across his face. "Fen-to-matic! And Manson! Still together, huh? I always knew you two would be in it for the long haul. Happy New Year!"

Danny and Sam blinked at each other, then Danny turned back to Dash. "Uh… hey, Dash. What are you doing here?" He looked around, his eyes narrowing in suspicion. "You're not trying to hook up with my sister again, are you? 'Cause she's seeing someone."

Dash laughed, that sort of harsh, barking sound that usually meant Danny was about to get pummeled. "Nah. She's not exactly my type."

A worse thought hit Danny. "And my cousin's not available, either." _Not to you, anyway_. Fortunately, Danielle was in Aspen on a ski trip with Valerie and her dad, although how she could stand to be so close to _that_ place, he had no clue. If he could help it, he'd never set foot in the state of Colorado again.

Dash still looked amused. "Uh… also not my type. I'm actually here for a job interview, if you can believe that."

Danny thought his jaw might come unhinged from the rest of his face. "A-a job interview? You wanna work here? At _FentonWorks_?"

"Yep. Pretty weird, huh? I guess your folks are looking to hire some full-time security. Figured I was pretty good at wailing on stuff. Might as well get paid for it."

"Uh…" Sam sounded as shocked as Danny. "Correct me if I'm wrong, Dash, but aren't you playing football at Notre Dame? I thought you got a full-ride scholarship."

"Yeah." Dash scowled. "It kinda went away when I busted up my knee. Really stinks, too, because I was red-shirted most of freshman year, played one lousy game at the end of the season, and BAM! I get crushed under, like, the entire USC defensive line. Knee goes out, and it's too screwed up for me to keep playing, so bye-bye scholarship."

"Wow, that really does stink." Danny surprised even himself with the fact that he actually felt kind of bad for Dash.

The ex-jock grimaced. "Yeah, pretty much. But I've had a year to recover, and to get over it. Time to figure out what's next."

"And working at _FentonWorks_ is what you came up with?"

Dash laughed again. "I know. Who'da thought? I mean, we always had your folks pegged as freaks, at least until the asteroid. But I saw the ad for a security guard and thought it'd be kinda cool to work with people who hunt ghosts and help out Danny Phantom every so often. I met him once, you know. We worked together to get away from some hunter-ghost guy." His chest puffed out in pride. "It'd be awesome to work with him again."

Danny gave Sam a sideways glance and saw her biting her lip to keep from laughing. Resisting the urge to elbow her in the stomach, he turned back to Dash. "Uh, yeah. You never know."

The door to the basement opened, and a man that looked like he had to be at least a hundred years old shuffled out. Danny's father was right behind him, sort of hovering, as if he were afraid the old man might topple backwards down the stairs. "That is an impressive resume, Mr. Stabonowski. It must've been tough being a security guard during the bank runs of the Great Depression." He gave a sort of nervous laugh, then nudged Mr. Stabonowski toward the door leading to the living room and out of the house. "We'll let you know what we decide."

When the old man disappeared into the living room, Danny's dad heaved a sigh of relief, then caught sight of Danny and Sam. "Danny! Sam! Is it the weekend already?"

"Uh… it's still winter break, Dad. School doesn't start again until a week from Monday."

"Oh, right. All these interviews your mother and I have been doing. I don't know whether I'm coming or going." He looked at a clipboard lying on the kitchen table. "Let's see… Dashiell Baxter?"

Dash stood up. "Yes, sir. Call me Dash."

Danny's father face lit up as his eyes went back and forth between Dash and Danny. Although Dash didn't tower over Danny as much as he once had, he was about Jack's height, which still put him a good three or four inches taller—not to mention six inches broader—than Danny, who was trying not to groan as he saw the wheels turning behind his father's eyes. Although the position was ostensibly for a _security_ guard, Danny knew damn well his parents were at least partially thinking _body_guard. The fact that throughout middle school and high school Dash was the person Danny most needed guarding _from_ did not exactly make him more comfortable with the situation.

Jack scrunched up his nose as he eyed his prospective new employee. "You look familiar, Dash. Have we met?"

"Danny and I used to go to school together. We were just catching up, in fact." Dash flashed Danny a broad smile.

"Old high school chums, eh? That's wonderful!" Danny's dad beamed. "Well, come on down to the lab. Mrs. Fenton and I have a few questions for you."

"Of course." Dash let himself be guided toward the basement door and down the staircase beyond.

When his dad pulled the door closed behind, Danny turned to Sam. "Okay, was that not the weirdest thing ever?"

"It'd be even weirder if your dad actually hired him."

Danny shuddered. "Don't even joke."

* * *

If Danny had thought Dash applying for a job at FentonWorks was the weirdest thing ever, he'd gravely underestimated the propensity for the absurd in the Fenton household. He was still heating up some cider on the stove—apparently his father had "fixed" the microwave recently—when the basement door opened, and Dash and Danny's dad appeared at the top of the stairs. "Mrs. Fenton and I will get back to you by the end of the week. We have a couple more interviews tomorrow, but I will say that I'm very impressed with your credentials."

"Well, I know working backstage security for an Ember McLean concert isn't exactly the same as working a bank during the Depression, but seeing as my _grandfather_ was, like, just a baby at the time…"

Jack blinked, then he threw his arm around Dash's shoulders and the two of them laughed amiably. Wiping his eyes, Jack slapped Dash on the back. "We'll be in touch, Dash." Then, he spotted Danny. "Show your old buddy out, will you, Danny? I've got some things cooking in the lab I need to get back to." Without waiting for an answer, he went back down into the basement.

Dash looked at Danny. "Actually, Fenton, I'm glad you're still here. I was hoping I could take you and the girlfriend for some coffee at Queequeg's."

Danny blinked. "You know, you don't have to kiss up to me, Dash. My parents will be deciding who to hire, not me."

"I'm not kissing up to you. I just… figure I kinda owe you, is all. I know I was a jerk to you in high school. Thought maybe a cup of coffee would be the start of an apology."

Danny once again exchanged stunned looks with Sam before he answered Dash. "Uh… yeah, I guess. The cider was kinda taking too long to heat up anyway."

"Cool!" Dash grinned, slapping Danny on the back hard enough to knock him forward a few steps. "Let's go!"

Sam leaned into Danny as they headed toward the front door. "Just when I thought I'd seen every freakishly bizarre thing I could ever see at FentonWorks…"

* * *

Queequeg's Coffee was packed, but Danny, Sam, and Dash managed to find a table in the corner. They made small talk for a little while, Dash telling them about the surgery on his knee and the rehabilitation that followed as he sipped his frothy candy cane mocha cappuccino from the holiday menu that was still in effect.

Sam put down her caramel soy latte. "I don't get it, Dash. Why'd you quit school just because you lost your scholarship?"

"Couldn't afford it."

Danny frowned. "Couldn't afford it? Your parents might not be as loaded as Sam's, but they seem like they can afford Notre Dame."

Sam nudged him. "Real nice."

"No, he's right," Dash said. "It's just that my dad cut me off when I came out."

Danny froze with his espresso halfway to his lips while Sam almost spit her latte all over Dash. Wiping her mouth, she stared at him. "Wait. 'Came out' as in _came out_? Of the _closet_?"

Dash gave her a patronizing look. "You gotta problem with that?"

"Are you kidding? I think it's awesome!"

He narrowed his eyes. "Really. I didn't know my sexual orientation was of interest to you."

"Oh, it's not. But coming out means you're finally being true to yourself—that's what's awesome."

Danny gaped at her. "You knew?"

"No." She shook her head. "Never even occurred to me, actually. I just think it's always a good thing when people stop going along with the crowd and are themselves."

"Yeah, you've never had a problem being different, have you?" Dash's tone was too ambiguous for Danny to tell if he meant it as a slight or a compliment. "So, what about you, Fenton? You seem pretty shocked."

"Well, _yeah_. You hit on my sister in ninth grade!"

Dash rolled his eyes. "Well, _duh_. It's called 'the closet' for a reason. You might have noticed, I didn't really date a lot in high school, but I did make a few attempts. First to try and prove to myself I was really straight. Then, when that didn't work, to prove it to everyone else. Your sister always seemed… I dunno. Safe. She was pretty, and popular enough to make me look good, but too smart to ever get really serious. It wasn't until after I hurt my knee and I thought my life was about to fall apart that I finally decided I needed to be honest with myself. My dad kicked me out of the house when I told him. Hasn't spoken to me since. My mom cried, and she thinks it's awful, like I have some sort of horrible disease or something, but she still calls me every now and then, when my dad's not around."

"That's terrible." Sam looked furious on his behalf. "Why do parents have to do that to their own kids?"

Danny shot her a warning look. _This is not about _your_ parents_. Although she was more or less getting along with her parents these days, things could still be strained. They never did completely warm up to the idea of their daughter dating a half-ghost. Whenever he and Sam were in Amity Park, she spent as much time at his house and as little time at home as possible, and when she did go home, it was mostly to see her grandmother.

Dash shrugged. "It wasn't just my folks. About the only one of my so-called friends who didn't completely blow me off afterwards is Kwan. We still hang out when he comes home from school. He's at UCLA. Well, Paulina was cool with it," he amended, "but I pretty much dropped off her radar when I busted my knee."

"I could've told you the crowd you hung out with were pretty lousy friends," Danny said. "Look what they—what _you_—did to Valerie when her dad went bankrupt."

Dash actually had the good sense to look contrite. "Yeah. We were pretty awful. I… I actually was hoping to run into her. I wanted to apologize for the way I treated her, too. You see her much?"

Danny nodded. "All the time. She goes to school with us at Purdue Calumet. Tucker Foley, too, but they're both out of town right now. Val's on a ski trip in Colorado, and Tucker's at some techno-geek convention in Vegas. We do come home most weekends and breaks, though." They'd all chosen Purdue Calumet specifically because it was so close to Amity Park, so they'd never be far from the Fenton Portal—or the ghosts that came through it looking to cause trouble in the Human World.

"Ah, Foley." Dash took a sip of his cappuccino. "I guess he's on my list of amends to be made, too. Not as high up as you or Valerie, but still…"

Sam put her elbows on the table and rested her chin on her hands. "You sound like you're doing a twelve-step program or something."

"Nah, not really. I just… well, like I said, when I busted my knee and lost my football career and my scholarship and pretty much everything I had planned out for the next decade or so of my life, I kinda did some soul searching. And being on the receiving end of the kind of treatment we regularly doled out was a bit of a wakeup call. I know I was really harsh with you, Fenton. Well, all of you guys, but mostly you."

Sam eyed him. "It's called 'karma,' Dash. Maybe being gay, you should've thought of that before you decided to become the Casper High bully."

Danny cringed—Sam was nothing if not forthright. But Dash seemed to take it in stride. "Actually, I think the reason I was always wailing on Fenton was _because_ I'm gay."

Sam's eyebrows almost shot past her hairline. "Wait. Are you saying you had a _crush_ on Danny?"

Danny very nearly choked, and he and Dash both cried out, "EWWWWW!" in matching tones of horror. Then, Danny looked at Dash, his cheeks burning. "Uh… not that there's anything wrong with that."

"Thank you, Jerry Seinfeld." Dash rolled his eyes, then shot a look of disgust at Sam. "And no, I _so_ did not have a crush on your boyfriend here. What I was _going_ to say is that, well, I guess I figured the best defense was a good offense. As long as I was pounding someone else into the ground, then no one would start to really think about me and see that _I_ was different. I mean, most people don't think 'gay' when they see a tough-guy quarterback, you know? That's why I was always wailing on you, Fenton. Your folks were the town freaks with the whole ghost thing… at least until we all found out they were right. And you were always kinda scrawny and mostly a nice guy who wouldn't fight back, so you were an easy mark. That's why I asked you here. The least I could do is take you out for coffee and say I'm sorry."

Danny nodded. "I appreciate that, Dash." And he was surprised to find that he actually did.

"It's no excuse, I know, but it's hard, keeping this huge part of your life a secret like that."

Danny glanced at Sam before answering. "Yeah. I guess it would be."


	9. Paulina: Part II

_ **June  
Twelve years after the accident  
Age 25** _

When they finally returned to Amity Park, the crowds were insane. People massed around their home, around FentonWorks, even around Tucker's and Sam's parents'. It was better than in Washington—people here were largely supportive, and Danny saw signs everywhere that read _Amity Park Supports Danny Phantom_. But for the first few days, they couldn't walk out onto the streets without being mobbed, and he already found himself missing the anonymity that being Danny Fenton had always afforded him.

They decided to stay over at his parents' for a day or two so at least he could start working again without having to try and get through the crowds to get there. Danielle was also home from Northwestern on what would probably be her last summer break before med school got really intense, which was another reason Danny wanted to stay at FentonWorks. With Dash and his partner, Patrick, also staying over so that Dash could better keep an eye on security while things were so crazy, it made for a full house. Danny was therefore a little surprised to actually get a moment alone in the kitchen when he came up from the basement lab to grab a snack.

It didn't last long. He'd barely managed to down two handfuls of corn chips when Dash came in from the living room with the kind of grin on his face that set off warning bells in Danny's head. "There you are, buddy. Someone's here to see you." His voice had an almost sing-song quality that made Danny even more leery.

"Everyone wants to see me. Your job is supposed to be to keep them away."

"Oh, I think you'll make an exception in this case." The grin widened, and Danny braced himself.

And yet, he still wasn't prepared for who came around the corner. _"Paulina?"_

He hadn't seen much of her since high school, but she looked pretty much the same—flawlessly beautiful, with hair a little shorter, but still a deep, glossy brown. She was wearing a pink summer dress that set off her curves and her dark skin perfectly. She smiled at him, her expression somewhere between flirtatious and the smug look of a predator who had just cornered her prey. "Danny Fenton. All these years, and it was you all along."

Dash walked by him on the way towards the front hall, and Danny grabbed his elbow and, while smiling at Paulina, hissed at him. "You are _so_ fired."

He just grinned. "Last I checked, your dad still signs my paychecks." And then he left Danny alone with Paulina.

She crossed her arms, her eyebrow arched as she continued to appraise him. "Danny Fenton… Danny Phantom. I feel like I should've known."

"Yeah, well. I was fourteen, and I come from a long line of people who think up really bad names. It beat the heck out of 'Inviso-Bill,' though."

"Still. It seems so obvious. It just never occurred to me to look for a secret identity. I thought you were a ghost, and that was that."

"Yeah, that's probably the one reason we were able to keep it secret for so long. No one knew there _was_ a secret."

She smiled again, that same predatory smile that made him wish he could go intangible and sink through the floor into the basement to get out from under her appraising gaze. "So, if you were the Ghost Boy all along, how is it the two of us never hooked up?"

"Uh… you do know my wife is right upstairs, don't you? And I'm reasonably sure she could kick both our asses."

"When you're a human, or when you're a ghost?"

He considered a moment. "Either. She's awfully good with my dad's weapons. Although, it's pretty much a moot point." He held up his left arm, letting his white lab coat sleeve slip down a bit to reveal a black band around his wrist. About the size of one of those bulletproof bracelets Wonder Woman wore, the device was a miniaturized version of Vlad's old Spectral Energy Neutralizer. As long as he was wearing it, he couldn't go ghost or use any of his ghost powers.

Paulina's expression darkened, and he could've sworn he saw a flash of anger, but then it was gone and the teasing expression was back. "She still wear those combat boots all the time?"

Danny grinned. "When she's not in court. The court shoes are scarier, though."

Paulina shook her head. "I just can't get over it. You, the Ghost Boy. A lot of things make so much more sense now. Like, why you and Dash Baxter suddenly became tight after high school."

"Actually, Dash didn't find out I was Danny Phantom until after we became friends, when I trusted him enough to tell him."

"And Valerie, with that whole out-of-nowhere crush she had on you at the end of ninth grade."

Danny snorted. "Are you kidding me? Valerie _hated_ Danny Phantom. She found out who I was along with everyone else who was working in that control tower in Antarctica during the asteroid crisis, and she wasn't very happy about it at first."

Paulina shook her head again. "All those people found out… how many was it?"

"Almost eighty."

"Almost eighty people, and it took nearly ten years for word to get out. Hard to believe."

"Sometimes people just want to do the right thing. Mr. Lancer and Val's dad were there, and they saw pretty quick on the news the way things were shaping up with the anti-ghost laws and everything, so they got everyone together and convinced them to keep it a secret."

She flashed another dark look before resuming the more flirtations expression. Taking a step closer, she leaned on the back of one of the kitchen chairs. Danny tried not to notice how much cleavage he could see from this new angle as she tossed her hair back over her shoulder. "What about you, Danny? Why did you always keep it such a secret from everyone?"

"Uh…" He tapped on the band on his wrist again.

"I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about the one-on-one. I know for a fact you had a crush on me in high school. Why didn't you just tell me who you were? And don't get your shorts in a bundle or give me the wife-is-right-upstairs line. I'm not hitting on you."

"That dress begs to differ."

"This old thing?" She batted her eyelashes a few times. "I can do way better than this if I want that kind of attention. All I want from you is to understand why nothing happened back then, when I had such a thing for you and you so obviously had a thing for me."

He sighed. "You never had a thing for me. You had a thing for the guy with the cool powers."

"Which was you."

"It was me, but so is _this_." He tapped on his chest—his very human chest—for emphasis. "Crushing on Danny Phantom wasn't enough, Paulina. Yeah, I liked you in ninth grade, but I wanted you to like _me_. Not some image—"

She cut him off with an upraised palm. "I think I've already heard this lecture."

He frowned, and then gave her a sheepish grin when he remembered. "Oh. Right."

She stood up straight and crossed her arms once more, the same teasing grin on her face. "So… that girl you told me about. The perfect one you had a crush on that was just a pretty face. Was that me?"

With a wary grin, he shook his head slowly. "Yeah… I think I'll let you decide for yourself."

"I suppose we should still keep some things a mystery between us."

She winked, and he stifled the urge to roll his eyes. "Is there a reason you're here, Paulina, other than tripping down memory lane? 'Cause we're still a good two years away from our tenth reunion, and I think I can hold off on the nostalgia until then."

"Actually, I _am_ here for a reason." She dropped the flirtatiousness and became all business so fast he almost got whiplash. "I suppose I've made it no secret that I'm not a huge fan of your wife. I never really understood why she went off on such a major ghost-rights kick in high school, or why she would spend so much of her family fortune just to fight the anti-ecto control laws. Not that I'm in favor of the anti-ghost laws, particularly after what happened a few years back with the Guys in White—or as I like to call them, the Losers With No Fashion Sense. How a government agency like that gets away with ignoring pretty much _everyone's_ civil rights just to catch a few ghosts, I'll never know. Heck, I would've even voted for your little geek friend in the special election last year if I hadn't moved to Chicago. I thought he did some good things with ghost laws in the state General Assembly. But now? Suddenly, it's perfectly clear just exactly what this is all about, and I'm prepared to do a little more than just vote for ecto-friendly candidates." Her eyes flicked to something behind Danny. "Speak of the bat girl…"

Danny looked over his shoulder to see Sam come into the kitchen from the living room. Her expression was the kind of scornful mock joy that Paulina always seemed to bring out in her. "Paulina. I'd say it's a pleasant surprise, but it isn't really either, and Tucker's the politician, not me." She slid up beside Danny, threading her arm through his in a way that was only slightly less proprietary than a rottweiler standing over a T-bone.

"Sam Manson." Paulina's smile hitched just slightly. "Still haven't discovered the whole rainbow of colors that exists outside of black, I see."

"And you're still really plumbing the depths of that vast intellect of yours to come up with such witty repartee."

"Uh…" Danny looked from Sam to Paulina. "Can we all put our claws away before someone—namely, me—gets hurt?"

"Some things never change," Paulina said. It was directed at Sam, but then she turned to Danny and added, "And some things change a lot."

Sam let out a huff of air. "Can we help you with something?"

"No, actually. I'm the one who can help _you_. As I was just about to tell your husband here, my family has a lot of political influence, particularly with the Latino community, and not just in Amity Park. We have a lot of money, too, though I suppose that's less important to you, seeing as your foundation is very well funded. Not that it would hurt to have multiple influential donors. And I should also mention that I'm a consultant with a major PR firm in Chicago, so I know a little something about how to market an idea."

Sam raised her eyebrows. "What are you getting at?"

"I'm prepared to lend my PR expertise, my family name, and its considerable influence—and money—to your cause. Not only will I get my papá to make a significant contribution to Tucker Foley's campaign—plus a few other key races to get anti-ecto candidates out of Congress—I will also use that influence with many of the senators and representatives Papá has cultivated ties with over the years, and push for the repeal of the Anti-Ecto Control Act. Are you interested?"

Sam's grip on Danny's arm tightened, and he looked at her, wondering what she'd do. The Human-Ecto Alliance and the fight to change the Anti-Ecto Control Act so that the government would no longer have carte-blanche to do whatever it pleased with ghosts—or half-ghosts—was her baby, and he knew what Paulina was offering would be a huge boon to the campaign. But she was also, if not Sam's least favorite person in the world, then certainly in the bottom five, and after a fleeting look of surprise, suspicion once again darkened his wife's features. "What's the catch?"

Paulina blinked, all innocence. "Catch?"

"Yes. Catch. What's in it for you? Because in all the years I've known you, I can't remember you ever doing anything when there wasn't something in it for you."

Something flared in Paulina's eyes, and Danny winced. He remained silent, however, preferring to stay out of the battle of wills between two of the most willful women he knew.

"Okay, how's this for a catch?" Paulina's gaze moved to Danny. "I do this, and in return, when we run those bastards out of office and the Guys in White can't even get jobs as dog catchers, then you lose the unfashionable wrist accessory and go back to being who you are. That's my catch. Amity Park needs Danny Phantom."

Danny wasn't quite sure how to respond to that. Even Sam seemed taken aback, her eyes wide with surprise. "Really? That's it?"

"Listen, Susie Monochrome. You think you're the only one who gets what Danny Phantom is about? Maybe I was never his BFF, or part of the Sidekicks Super Club, but that doesn't mean I don't have a vested interest. He—" She seemed to realize she was talking about Danny as if he wasn't in the room, and redirected her words to him. "_You_ saved my life more times than I really care to think about. And I'm not even talking about all the times you saved Amity Park or even the whole world. I'm talking about me, _personally_. So you wanna know what's in it for me? That's it."

Danny suddenly found it hard to meet her gaze. "Paulina, I—"

"_We_ look forward to working with you." Sam stepped forward, her hand outstretched.

Paulina regarded the proffered hand for a moment, then smiled as she grasped it in her own. "They say politics makes strange bedfellows."

Sam arched an eyebrow, but with the kind of expression she might use when harassing Danny or Tucker rather than one with any real rancor. "Yeah, you can just keep the bed references to yourself, thank you."


	10. The Ghost of Christmas Present: Part III

_ **Amity Park  
December 22, 7:00 pm CST** _

Sam tried to get comfortable on the couch, her laptop computer perched beside her on the sofa's arm—"laptop" being something of a misnomer in this case, since she no longer had a lap to set it on. She wasn't quite to the point where getting up and down was a struggle, and she could still see her feet when she was standing, but those days weren't far off, and getting comfortable wasn't exactly easy. It didn't help that the baby got more active in the evening, and the near-constant kicking, though reassuring, was distracting, especially given that the daunting amount of files she had to study were tedious under the best of circumstances. Only the jangle of Christmas music playing in the background helped keep her energized enough to sit through reading and re-reading court cases she knew almost by heart.

Her own case was scheduled to be heard in the U.S. District Court in Hammond on January 28, and there was still a lot of work to be done. She wasn't the lead counsel, of course—besides being the plaintiff, she was far too green for something this important. Even Rob Collins, the Human-Ecto Alliance's General Counsel, would be taking a backseat role now that the ACLU and Amnesty International were both involved. Despite her youth and relative inexperience, however, she still knew more about the Anti-Ecto Control Act and all the Anti-Ecto Codes than almost anyone alive. She'd had every word memorized by the time she was fifteen, and knew each amendment and codicil that had been added since then, so her input was vital. That, in addition to her position as head of the Human-Ecto alliance, her leadership role in the grass-roots efforts, and the fact that she'd become the face and voice of the entire movement, gave her mountains of work to do, and not much time in which to do it. Once the baby was born in March, she would be cutting back drastically on her workload.

Assuming she'd still be in the Human World to work at all.

At seven o'clock, she started thinking about dinner. Her appetite was nearly non-existent, and food in general held no appeal, so it was hard to motivate herself to go to the trouble of making dinner. She'd had to put herself on a fairly strict schedule—she ate when it was time to eat, whether she wanted to or not, because the baby needed her to.

Putting the laptop into hibernation mode, she heaved herself up off the couch and headed toward the kitchen, not looking forward to figuring out what she could cobble together from the fridge that was more substantial than the gingerbread cookies still left over from Patrick's last vegan baking binge. Before she got halfway there, however, the doorbell rang, and she turned around, grumbling in annoyance at the interruption. "Whoever you are, unless you have a large veggie pizza, go away."

But when she looked through the peephole and saw who was standing on the other side of the door, she knew she was in for a long night. Pulling the chain back and turning the several locks on the door, she opened it, the pasted-on smile automatically finding its way to her face. "Hi, Jack. What brings you here?"

Her mountain of a father-in-law held out a large casserole dish covered in foil. "Food! Maddie thought you might not have much time for cooking, so she made this veggie lasagna for you. You are eating for two, you know."

Considering that Jack generally ate for _ten_, the thought of what he might consider "eating for two" was a little alarming, but if Maddie made the lasagna, Sam knew it would be fabulous. She smiled, this one completely genuine, and backed away from the door to allow Jack entry. "You and Maddie are really too thoughtful. And your timing is perfect. I was just thinking about getting some dinner."

Jack handed her the casserole dish with one hand, making a face as he did so. His hair was almost completely gray now, but he still had the same square jaw, twinkling blue eyes, and childlike behavior that kept him from ever looking old. It was almost hard to believe he was a grandfather with another grandchild on the way, especially the way he was looking at that casserole dish like a two-year-old might look at a plate of Brussels sprouts. "Well, put this baby in the freezer. It's got nothing in it that makes lasagna lasagna. Just some eggplant and broccoli and junk, and some scary-looking plastic stuff on top that I think is supposed to be cheese. So I brought you some real food instead. Just don't tell Maddie."

Sam arched her eyebrow. "I think I'll stick with the lasagna. I'm pretty sure there's not a single thing on the planet that both you and I would consider 'real food.' You and Tucker, maybe…"

"That's where you'd be wrong, Sammy." With a wide smile, he brought his other hand around from behind his back, revealing a greasy bag and a drink holder with two sodas. "I stopped off at the Nasty Burger. A Double-Nasty with cheese and bacon for me, and a tofu soy melt for you. And for both of us…" He opened the bag and produced… "French fries! Cooked in one-hundred percent vegetable oil!" He then held up the drink holder. "And cherry cola!"

She chuckled. "I stand corrected." Taking the paper-wrapped sandwich that Jack dug out of the bag next, she sniffed it, letting nostalgia wash over her. "It's been months since I had a Nasty Burger tofu soy melt. And since I was just starting with the morning sickness at the time, I didn't really enjoy it."

"See? Everyone thinks I don't pay attention to anything but ghosts, but you've been family since you were twelve. I know what kind of weirdo, tree-hugger stuff you eat."

"Well, tree-hugger crack aside… thank you. Although, I can't promise I can eat the fries. Normally, I love them, but my appetite has been really funky lately, and they're a little greasy." She led Jack towards the kitchen, but he paused, noticing her muted TV, tuned to C-SPAN.

"Still going at it, eh?"

Sam grunted in annoyance. "They've been under quorum call since this morning. Supposedly they're trying to hash out a revision to the tax code before they close the session, but Tucker's convinced the anti-ghost crowd is looking to sneak something in under the wire before they lose their majority in January."

"He gonna make it home for Christmas? Maddie'll be disappointed if he doesn't come over Christmas Eve."

"He'll be here. They'll go all through the night tonight to make sure they finish tomorrow so everyone can be home for Christmas. I'm thinking of sending the Learjet to D.C. so he won't have to worry about trying to get on a commercial flight."

Sam didn't generally live like the obscenely wealthy heiress she was. Most of the money she did spend went towards funding the Human-Ecto Alliance, while she only allowed herself a modest stipend. But she'd let Danny talk her into buying a private jet after he'd gone public so that his celebrity status wouldn't be an issue when they traveled back and forth to Washington for the monthly check-ins he would have had with the Guys in White had everything gone as planned.

Ironic that he'd never gotten the chance to fly in it.

Still, she had to admit it had come in handy in the months since. Sitting on a commercial flight next to either a Danny Phantom fangirl or an ecto hater would've been a nightmare. And if she could use the jet to help Tucker, so much the better. "One way or another, we'll get 'em home for Christmas."

Turning away from the television, she went into the kitchen and set the lasagna on the counter so she'd remember to divide it up into plastic storage containers for freezing later. She and Jack then seated themselves across from each other at the small kitchen table in the corner. As she unwrapped her soy melt, she watched him tackle his heart-attack burger with gusto. "Are you sure you're not really Tucker's dad? You and he are, like, food soulmates."

Jack snorted, patting his enormous midsection. "You think if Tucker had these genes, he could eat like me and still be so skinny? Now Danny, on the other hand… it's no wonder he stayed so thin, living in a house with nothing but rabbit food."

"Danny ate what he wanted to eat. I never stopped him from having meat or anything else."

"That may be, but I know my son. He wouldn't bother with it if he had to cook it himself."

He was right on that count. Danny had grown to like several vegetarian dishes, mostly because it was easier to eat what she'd prepared than to cook his own food. She didn't mind him having meat, dairy, and eggs in the house, but she wasn't about to cook them for him, and when he was motivated enough to cook for himself, he had to use his own set of pans. Perpetually lazy, he often wouldn't bother and would just eat whatever she'd made instead, although he did draw the line at any sort of soy products. He kept his own cheese to add to whatever she made, and would sometimes broil a chicken breast or a steak to eat with it as well.

Around Thanksgiving, she'd cleaned out the fridge, finally tossing all of his cheese, which had gone moldy, and a carton of eggs that had probably shriveled to nothing inside the shells. There was still a package of sirloin in the freezer, however, and a bag full of individually frozen chicken breasts that she couldn't bring herself to throw away. Their presence in her freezer, like his clothes hanging in the closet and his aftershave and toothbrush on the bathroom counter, served as reminders that this was still _their_ home.

Brushing away the melancholy that came with that thought, Sam smiled at Jack. "Yeah, you're right. But you should see how he ate when we went out. He'd order the greasiest, meatiest, cheesiest thing on the menu and wolf it down like I'd been starving him."

"Because you _were_ starving him. "

She rolled her eyes as she took a bite of her soy melt, more amused than annoyed by the cracks about her diet. Whatever popped into the man's head came out his mouth, and she knew his needling was a sign of affection rather than malice. The same words from her own father's lips would come off disdainful and contemptuous, but from Jack, it was the verbal equivalent of ruffling her hair.

He took another bite of his mammoth burger, then washed it down with a swig of cola. "Maddie says your doctor's appointment went well. Jack the Second cooking along nicely, then?"

Sam sighed. "You know I can't name the baby 'Jack.' Everything you invent is already named after you. If the baby's name were Jack Fenton, too, he'd think he was just another ecto-weapon. Besides, the world couldn't handle two Jack Fentons. You are truly one of a kind."

"You gotta point there, Sammy. All the same, he is my first grandson…"

"I know he is. But Jazz wants to save 'Jack' for her first son's middle name, just like Charley's middle name is 'Madeline.'" It wasn't a complete lie—if Jazz ever did have a boy, she wanted his middle name to be "Jack," but that wasn't the reason Sam had never considered the name for her own son. From the moment she'd found out she was having a boy, she'd known exactly what she wanted to name him, although she hadn't shared that with anyone yet.

Maybe it was time.

Pressing her lips together, she looked across the table. "The thing is, Jack… there's an old Jewish tradition to name children after a deceased family member. Normally, I don't do traditional, but Danny always kinda liked that stuff, and it would've made my grandmother really happy, so I think I can make an exception."

"Oh. Right." Jack's exaggerated pout melted into a more somber expression. "That's a nice tradition." He took another bite of his cheeseburger to cover the awkward moment before speaking again. "The baby's doing good, though, right?"

"Yep. Right on target for twenty-eight weeks. He's a little under two-and-a-half pounds, and about fifteen inches long."

"Maddie said something about having trouble finding the heartbeat at first?"

Sam grunted. "Well, there was that. Apparently, the little bugger has his father's warped sense of humor. Right when Dr. Mihashi was trying to find his heartbeat, he decided it would be a good time to go intangible, leaving nothing for the Doppler sound waves to bounce back off of." Her tone was one of dry wit, but the fact that the baby could go intangible was easily one of her biggest fears about this pregnancy. There were times when she felt like her womb was suddenly empty. It only lasted seconds, and she was somewhat used to it by now, but it was still disconcerting.

Fortunately, her mother-in-law happened to be the world's foremost expert in ecto-physiology. Long before Sam was pregnant, back as early as when Danny had first revealed to his parents that he was half ghost, Maddie had begun mulling over all the implications her son's genetic mutation might have on any potential offspring. She'd long since anticipated the complications that could arise if Danny were to father a child with intangibility powers, so by the time Sam told her she was pregnant, Maddie had already developed, tested, and refined the serum that would turn Sam's body, including her uterus, into a living ghost shield. Numerous tests had shown it to be reliable, with little to no side effects for Sam and no danger to the baby. She was even impervious to overshadowing, a fact Maddie had exploited to receive a government grant for all the clinical trials, touting the serum's ghost-repelling properties. But a Specter Deflector could serve that purpose just as well without the weekly injections, so she'd not bothered marketing it to the general public for that application, and the government had lost interest when they'd discovered that, unlike the Specter Deflector, it wasn't harmful to the ghosts.

Still, no matter how good the serum or how reassuring Maddie's constant vigilance, Sam still had occasional nightmares about the baby phasing out of her.

Jack, on the other hand, seemed to have no concerns whatsoever about the baby's tendency to randomly go intangible. He beamed in pride, slapping his hand down on the table. "That's my grandson!"

Sam arched her eyebrow at the irony. This was the same man who used to regularly call Danny Phantom a "putrid protoplasm," or some such thing, and threaten to "take him apart, molecule by molecule." That was, of course, before he'd known that Amity Park's resident Ghost Boy was his own son. Since finding out, he'd become Danny's biggest cheerleader, and his fierce devotion to his son—and now, his grandson—never failed to warm Sam's heart. She gave him an affectionate smile. "Hey, Grandpa. Wanna feel him kick?"

His eyes widened and something like wonder crossed his features. "Really?"

"Sure. He's been doing the mambo in there all evening. Check it out."

Jack scooted his chair around closer to her, then reached a tentative hand toward her abdomen. She directed him to the area where she'd been feeling the most activity, and before long, she got a good jolt right under his palm.

"Hey, I felt that!" He was absolutely beaming. "Kid's gonna be a fighter, just like his old man."

Sam bit her lip. "Yeah. A fighter."

Oblivious to the wound into which he'd just poured salt, Jack slid back around to what was left of his meal. Stuffing the last of his fries into his mouth and taking a loud slurp from his cola, he got up from the table. "Okay, Sammy. I wanna take a look at the security system before I go. I have a few updates I wanna make."

Sam groaned. "Jack, no. Really, the security system is fine."

"What about the Fenton Porta-Portal?"

"I can't _say_ it, but I can _work_ it just fine. I keep the remote in my bag, which is always with me."

"And the Ghost Shield?"

"I don't _need_ the Ghost Shield. Seriously, Jack. Everything is in perfect working order. Nick was just here yesterday—"

Jack's eyes narrowed, and Sam knew she'd made a huge tactical error. Jack's competitiveness with his son-in-law, like every other character trait he possessed, was excessive. "Nick's a great mechanic—"

"He's a mechanical _engineer_, Jack."

"Mechanic, engineer, whatever. The point is, the boy has no vision. Not like Danny. Now, there's a guy who knew how to think outside the box, even if he never really got bit by the science bug as much as his mom and me. Nicky, on the other hand... he's a great nuts-and-bolts guy, but he was never much of an idea man." Jack sighed. "We made a good team, the four of us. Guess I was pretty spoiled, having my wife, son, and son-in-law all in the family business with me. Without Danny, it's been…" He looked down, self-conscious. "Well, you know."

Sam swallowed. "Yeah. I know."

He blinked a few times, then shook it off. "Anyway, I've got just the thing to make sure this place is locked down tighter than Fort Knox during a gold thief's convention. Just let me get my tools out of the Fenton RV." And he darted out of the kitchen before Sam could get in another protest.


	11. Drabble: Paradigm Shift

_ **August  
Two years after the accident  
Age 16** _

If anyone knew ghosts, it was Jack Fenton. After a lifetime of study, he knew exactly what they were—malignant beings that were a scourge upon humanity. Worst of all was Amity Park's resident Ghost Boy, because his "hero" act was hoodwinking the entire town. Ghosts couldn't be heroes. It flew against everything Jack knew to be true. Not even the asteroid crisis could convince him otherwise.

Until six words from Jazz: _There's something you need to know_.

An entire lifetime of belief unraveled in one revelation. Because however much Jack thought he hated ghosts, he loved his son more.


	12. Guidance

_ **September  
Three years after the accident  
Age 17** _

At the beginning of senior year, all students of Casper High were required to make at least one appointment with the school guidance counselor to discuss planning for life after high school. Tucker, Sam, and Valerie all made theirs pretty early on, but Danny kept putting it off. Talking about his future was not something he was looking forward to, particularly not with a school counselor he'd spoken to maybe all of four times in his entire three years of high school thus far. He had met with the previous counselor a few times during freshman year, but the fact that she'd turned out to be an evil ghost who fed off adolescent insecurities did not exactly bolster his confidence in the whole process.

He was surprised, then, when he walked into the counseling office for his appointment and found, not Ms. Lieberman, as expected, but Mr. Lancer, their bald, paunchy vice principal.

"Uh…" Danny hesitated in the doorway. "I'm supposed to have an appointment with Ms. Lieberman?"

"Yes, Mr. Fenton, I know. Have a seat. And close the door behind you." Lancer ushered him into the room with a wave of his hand.

Danny did as directed, closing the door and walking over to the blue classroom chair set up across from Ms. Lieberman's desk, behind which Mr. Lancer was now seated. Perching himself on the edge of the chair, Danny couldn't decide which was more uncomfortable: the molded plastic, or Lancer's unexpected presence. "Am I in some sort of trouble?"

"Only if you don't take planning for your future seriously." Mr. Lancer folded his hands and leaned forward. "I thought it would be a good idea if I handled your guidance sessions rather than Ms. Lieberman. If we're going to talk about your future, you're going to need to be forthright about what exactly your plans are."

"Um… okay." Now it was definitely Lancer making him more uncomfortable. As one of the seventy-some people who'd been in Antarctica during the asteroid crisis when Danny had revealed his identity, Lancer was the only teacher at Casper High who knew Danny was half ghost.

"So what _are_ your plans for the future, Mr. Fenton?"

Danny's shoulders slumped. "That's just it. I don't really know. I… I always wanted to be an astronaut, actually. From the time I was a little kid, anytime anyone asked what I want to be when I grow up, I always said 'astronaut.' I never even thought about doing anything else."

"I hear a 'but' in there."

"But NASA only chooses one hundred people every two years to go into the space program. And let's face it—with my math and science grades, I'm not exactly in the top 100 in the country."

"That's a copout, Mr. Fenton. Your grades have steadily improved over the last two years. Your C.A.T. and PSAT scores were decent, and there's no reason to think you won't do fairly well on the SAT. You're scheduled to take it next month, yes?"

Danny nodded.

"You probably won't get into MIT with your grades, but you won't have any trouble getting into a good university. Really buckle down and do well in college, go on to get advanced degrees, and there's no reason to think you wouldn't have a shot at the space program, if that's what you really want."

Danny shifted in his chair. "I guess."

"I suspect, however, that the 'but' isn't so much your qualifications, but rather your enthusiasm. Do you still want to be an astronaut?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. I guess, in a way, it kinda feels like 'been there, done that.'"

Lancer raised an eyebrow at him. "How so?"

"Well, ever since I got my ghost powers, I've gotten to do some pretty cool things. I've even been in space, and flown the space shuttle."

"So you aren't really interested in becoming an astronaut anymore."

"I guess not."

"Then what are you interested in doing?"

Danny let out a huff of air. "That's just it. I don't know. My friends all know exactly what they wanna do after high school. Tucker's gonna double-major in information technology and political science, and he's gonna either get some high-level job at a place like Axion, or he's gonna run for president. Maybe both, knowing him. Valerie's gonna do IT, like her dad, and Sam's gonna go to law school and work for the ACLU or something, or be a lobbyist, or some other activist thing. But me? I have no idea what I want to do. Being an astronaut was the only thing I ever wanted, but everything I thought my future was gonna be kinda got thrown out the window after the accident."

"Then maybe the problem is that you aren't asking the right question. Or at least not the full question. You're trying to figure out what Danny _Fenton_ wants to be, but have you considered what Danny _Phantom_ wants to be?"

Danny blinked. "What do you mean? Danny Phantom is just… he fights ghosts. That's pretty much it."

"I think there's far more to Danny Phantom than just fighting ghosts, although that's a big part of it. He's also a bit of a politician himself, not unlike Mayor Foley or Activist Manson. He's an ambassador, if you will, between the Human World and the Ghost Zone. Wouldn't you agree?"

"I guess." Actually, Danny had never really thought of it that way.

"Am I correct in assuming that you plan to continue with these pursuits after graduation?"

"Well, yeah, but not as a _career_."

"Why not as a career?"

"What? Like, get _paid_ to be Danny Phantom?"

"No. That would make you a mercenary, and I don't think that's exactly your style. Danny Fenton can worry about the getting paid, and we'll talk about that in a minute, but let's get back to Danny Phantom. You've been doing this for three years now, correct?"

"Pretty much."

"And you've improved quite a bit in those three years, mostly just through trial and error. But imagine the things you could do if you stopped feeling your way around, and actually planned for your career as a ghost-fighter-slash-ambassador the way you would have planned for a career as an astronaut. What fields of study could you undertake that would further these objectives?"

Danny cocked his head, considering. "I dunno. Uh… I should probably study martial arts or something. Valerie has been trying to talk me into joining her dojo anyway. Sam and Tucker, too."

"That's a start, not just for learning physical combat, but for learning tactics and strategy. But what about the other part? The ambassador part?"

"I dunno. That sounds like poli-sci, like Tucker and Sam."

"It certainly wouldn't hurt to take a few classes in diplomacy, and communications. Basic psychology and parapsychology would be helpful as well."

"That's Jazz's department."

"Well, the advantage to having an entire team behind you is that you will have others on the team that have strengths you don't, and that is most definitely one of your sister's fortes. But a good team leader needs to know a little bit about a broad array of subjects. Not to the same depth as Jazz, but an overview, at least."

"Okay. So I go to college and take poli-sci, communications, and psych, and do martial arts on the side. But that's kinda all over the map. None of that really says 'career.'"

"This is where Danny _Fenton_ comes in. Knowing that you want to continue ghost fighting, you should think about what careers might be complimentary to that."

"I dunno. I…" Danny stopped, his eyes widening as it hit him. "You know what I really see myself doing? I can't believe I'm saying this, but… I think I wanna keep FentonWorks going. I mean, I'm no inventor like my parents, but I could see myself working with them, helping them fine-tune the weapons, point out what new technology might be needed. Like when we fought against Plasmius a few months ago. My dad was the one who figured out that we'd need a whole new kind of weapon, but I'm the one who actually figured out how to fight him and what we'd need to do it."

Lancer nodded. "Good. I think you're onto something here. What skills would you need to work with your parents at FentonWorks?"

"Science. Physics, chemistry, biological sciences. I'd probably have to at least minor in some kind of science, if not major in it. And… business. Not as a major, but I'd need to have an idea how to run a business once my parents retire."

"Now you've got a plan. Get a science degree. Take classes in poli-sci, maybe even minor in it. Study martial arts. Take a few business classes, some psych, and some communications. Does that sound about right?"

"Yeah, actually, it does." Danny leaned forward, his hands on his knees, feeling excited about the future for the first time since… well, for the first time since he went to Junior Space Camp when he was ten.

"And I suspect you'll want to stick to a university close to home—and to that Ghost Portal in your parents' basement. There are a number of excellent universities in the Chicago area, and Purdue Calumet, Indiana University Northwest, and Valparaiso are all good schools very close to Amity Park."

Danny nodded, his mind whirling. He, Sam, Tucker, and Val had already talked about all of them going to Purdue Calumet so they could stay together and be close to Amity Park, and with Dani having just started her freshman year at Casper High, Danny had even more reason to stick close to home. "Yeah, I've already been reading up on Purdue Calumet on the 'net. I just didn't know if it was the right place because I didn't know what I actually wanted to study. But I feel like I have a direction now. Thanks, Mr. Lancer."

Lancer smiled and rose from his seat. "Just make sure you keep your grades up, especially in science and math. And English wouldn't hurt, either."

Danny rolled his eyes—English was Mr. Lancer's subject.

"And study up for the SAT. None of that funny business like we had with the C.A.T." He waggled a stern finger at Danny.

"No, sir." Danny got up from his seat as well. "Is that it, then?"

"That's it for now. We'll have another chat when it comes time to submit applications, look into scholarships, that sort of thing."

"Okay. Thanks again, Mr. Lancer. I feel a whole lot better about graduation now."

"I think helping you get on course for your future is the least I can do, considering the fact that none of us would even _have_ a future, if it weren't for you."


	13. The Ghost of Christmas Present: Part IV

_ **Amity Park  
December 22, 7:30 pm CST** _

Sam was just settling down on the couch once more when Jack returned with his toolkit. He waved absently at her as he hurried through the living room and back into the kitchen. "Don't get up. I know where everything is."

Her response was equally inattentive as she powered up her computer and opened two of the most frequently used files on her hard drive: _Hamdi v. Rumsfeld_ and _Hamdan v. Rumsfeld_. Every lawyer working on her case, herself included, had pored over both decisions and the hundreds of reviews and legal opinions that had been written about them, but where others were focusing on the differences between whether or not the petitioner was a U.S. Citizen, Sam was more interested in how the designation of "enemy combatants" compared to the way the Anti-Ecto code classified "Ecto-entities." The media was taking the classification issue even further, going all the way back to the Dred Scott decision and who gets standing as a "person," but while that was helping their grass roots effort, it wasn't going to be a factor in the courts. The key, Sam believed, was making the argument that if enemy combatants had habeas rights—

The phone ringing jarred her, and she almost knocked the laptop over as she reached for the receiver from the end table beside her. She did a quick check of the Caller I.D. before hitting the TALK button. "Hey, Jazz."

"Hi, Sam. So, how'd the checkup go?"

"Really good, actually. Other than the little bugger deciding to do his disappearing act right when Dr. Mihashi was trying to find his heartbeat—"

"Hey, Sammy!" Jack poked his head in from the kitchen. "You got a power drill? Maddie must've taken mine out of my toolbox."

"Is that my dad?" Jazz grunted in annoyance. "Do _not_ tell me he's messing with the security system again."

"Okay, I won't, but—"

"GAH! Put him on the phone!"

"Hold on." Sam held the phone out. "Hey, Jack. Jazz wants to talk to you."

"I'm kinda busy. Can you put it on speaker? And how about that drill?"

"In the utility closet out back. But talk to Jazz first." Putting the phone back to her ear, she said, "I'm gonna put you on speaker, Jazz." She set the receiver down, then pushed the speaker button. "Okay, you're on."

"Dad? Are you there?"

"Hey, Jazzerincess! How's my little Charley-horse? She all ready for a visit from Santa?"

"Never mind Charley. What are you doing over there? You'd better not be messing with the security system again!"

"Just making a few updates, princess."

"Dad, no! Nick just fixed it yesterday!"

Jack mumbled something Sam couldn't quite make out, then called back, "I gotta go out back and look for a power drill. I'll talk to you later, Jazzy-pants."

Sam snickered at the aggravated scream that came from the phone, glad it was on speaker and not next to her ear. "Jazz! Stop! He's gone." When she was sure Jazz was finished shouting, she picked up the receiver and took it off speaker.

Although she'd stopped shouting, Jazz was hardly finished complaining about her father. "Why does he have to keep messing with that? Now I'm gonna have to send Nick over there to fix whatever he does."

"Jazz, really. I'm sure it'll be fine."

"Please. I lived in that man's house for eighteen years. Those 'updates' of his are as likely to shoot you in your sleep as protect you." There was a sort of scraping sound, like she was cupping her hand over the phone, then Sam heard a muffled cry. "Nick! Dad's over at Sam's again! You're gonna have to get over there and stop him before he gets her killed!"

"Jazz…."

She heard Jazz's husband in the background, and Jazz said something else she couldn't quite catch.

"Jazz…"

Then Jazz was back on the line. "Okay, he'll be over as soon as he puts Charley to bed. He was just finishing up giving her a bath."

"Jazz, he does not need to come over here. If he really wants to check on it, he can do it in the morning."

"I don't think so. I'm not trusting my nephew's well-being to my father's crazy inventions."

"Uh… like the Fenton Phaser and the Porta-Portal?"

"That's different. He's stopped trying to 'fix' those, so consequently, they work."

Sam snorted. "Point. But I really don't want Nick to go to so much trouble."

"He's coming, and that's final. So tell me about the checkup."

"Not much to tell. Like I said, the baby went intangible when they tried to find a heartbeat and scared us half to death, but your mom's human-ghost-shield shots seem to be doing their job. Other than that, it was a perfect twenty-eight-week checkup."

"Oh, good! Now Mom just needs to come up with something to keep him from disappearing on you after he's born."

"No doubt. I think your dad's working on making the Spectral Energy Neutralizer into something a baby can safely wear." She grunted. "At least Danny was fourteen before he got his powers. I don't know how I'm gonna manage an infant with them. Or a toddler. Can you imagine the terrible twos?"

"Don't remind me. I've got less than a year before Charley's two. I'm scared enough even without her having ghost powers."

"How's she doing? Is she excited about Christmas?"

"Well, we tried taking her to see Santa at the mall, but she cried the whole time she was on his lap. I think my mom saw it as vindication of the whole Santa argument." Jazz exhaled in annoyance at that. "Actually, she's still too young to really get any of it. I think next year she'll be more excited. And she'll have a little cousin to play with."

"Yeah. Wow."

"What?"

"Well, it's just… sometimes it hits me how real this is. I'm gonna be a _mom_. By next Christmas."

Jazz laughed. "By next _Easter_."

"Right. He'll be about a month old at Passover. That's just freaky. I still feel like I'm fifteen and just playing at being an adult. How can I have a _kid_?"

"You're gonna be a great mom, Sam."

"Yes, because I'm just so nurturing," she deadpanned.

Jazz snorted. "Not in the traditional sense, maybe. But you are like a mother bear. You'll protect him, and stand up for him, and you'll encourage him to be an individual and the best person he can be. You'll be an awesome mom."

This time, her reply was devoid of sarcasm. "Thanks, Jazz."

"And I… I hope that Charley and her cousin will be really close."

"Why wouldn't they be? I see you practically every day."

Jazz took a breath. "If you have to go to Frostbite…"

"Don't." Sam clenched her teeth, letting her determination to keep fighting push back everything else. "It'll be fine. We'll be fine."

"Sam. It's okay to be scared."

She growled in annoyance. "Skip the psychobabble, Jazz. I don't need to be analyzed."

"I'm not analyzing you, Sam. I'm just saying. You've had to deal with so much in the last few months. It's okay for you to take time to feel the loss."

"I'm not 'not feeling the loss,' okay? I just would rather spend my time concentrating on the things I can change, and on fixing the future, instead of crying over the past."

"They're not mutually exclusive."

Sam let out a strangled cry of frustration. "Jazz, I need a sister-in-law and a friend, not a therapist, okay?"

"All right, all right. I just… I'm here for you. And I worry about you. The way things are these days, with everything so polarized, I can't help but worry about you and the baby. And Danielle, too."

"I know." Sam sighed. "Your mom mentioned Dani today, too. She's really hurt that she won't talk to her."

"She won't talk to any of us. I've tried calling her a few times, but Valerie can't even convince her to get on the phone with me just to say 'hi.' She's absolutely convinced that things would've gone differently if it hadn't been for her."

"Or if it hadn't been for _me_." Sam chewed on her lip. "But your mom's the one I feel bad for. Why should she suffer because Dani's upset with herself and with me?"

"You sound mad. Are you sure _you_ don't blame her?"

"What? Of course I don't blame her! Danny and I decided _together_ how best to handle the fallout from him going public. Everything he did was so that we could make a real difference for the future."

"For Danielle."

"For Danielle, yes. But for everyone, too. And for the son he didn't even know he was gonna have."

"That's just it, Sam. If you would've known you were pregnant—if _he_ would've known—do you think he would have done anything differently? Would _you_ have?"

"Like what? Let a fifteen-year-old kid get hit by a train?"

"I'm not talking about that, and you know it. I wanna know if you think he would've fought back, if he'd have known."

"I don't know, Jazz!"

"So maybe you resent Danielle a little, because if not for her—"

"I don't resent her, Jazz. I _love_ her. She's a part of Danny, and that makes her a part of me. So no. I don't think I'd have him do anything differently, even if I'd have known I was pregnant. I don't want to spend my life living in the Ghost Zone, and I don't want my son to grow up there because this world—_his_ world—won't accept him. And that's what we're fighting for here. It's what _Danny_ was fighting for that night. But… I do reserve the right to be angry with Danielle for the way she's acting now. He gave up _everything_ so she could live, and she's _not living_. I get why she took a year off of school—med school is hard enough when you're not grieving. But the rest of it? How do you think Danny would feel if he saw how she's cut us all off? How she's cut your _mom_ off? I'm just… I'm frustrated with her. But that's not the same as blaming her. I mean, if I were gonna go throwing around inappropriate blame, I'd start with the kid who decided walking across a railroad trestle was a good idea. But look at what he's doing now. He realizes what Danny did for him that night, and what it cost him, and he's using that to do something positive, to speak out against the laws that are the _real_ reason everything went to hell!"

"Is that what you want Dani to do? To go on _The Today Show_ like David? The whole point is to _not_ draw attention to her."

Sam let out a huff of air. "I know, Jazz. That's not what I'm saying. I just don't want her to waste the sacrifice Danny made for her. I want her to be with her family, and I want her to go back to med school next fall, and maybe volunteer an hour or two with the Human-Ecto Alliance stuffing envelopes or _something_. I don't think that's a lot to ask, so stop doing the therapist thing again and trying to get me to 'dig down deep' and look for all that 'hidden hostility,' because it's not hidden. My hostility is pretty much all out in the open. You know damn well who I blame, and it isn't Dani."

"All right, Sam. I just—" She stopped abruptly, then sighed. "Oh, shoot. Charley's crying. She's had an ear infection the past couple of days, poor thing. I'm gonna have to go check on her."

"That's okay. I have a ton of work to do anyway. I hope Charley's ear's not hurting too badly. Give her a kiss for me."

"I will. Don't work too hard, okay? And… I love you. Not just because you married my brother, either. You know that, right?"

"Yeah, I know. Me, too, Jazz. Even if you make me crazy with the psychobabble."

"It's called cognitive theory. And of course I make you crazy. We're family."


	14. Drabble: Birth of a Ghost Fighter

_ **November  
Three months after the accident  
Age 14** _

Jazz told her father she was trying out ghost-fighting as a sociological experiment, so she could hate it in a more informed context.

In reality, she was doing it for Danny.

She'd always wanted to shield her little brother from their parents' ghost craziness, but that was before she'd learned in an alley behind Elmer's Pharmacy that he _was_ a ghost. He was forever a part of that world now, not as an obsession, but because of who he was.

Still, he was her little brother. If she couldn't shield him from the craziness, then she'd meet him there instead.


	15. Danielle: Part II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I gotta give another shout-out to my beta-tester, **DragonDancer5150**, who was willing to give this chapter yet another read or ten when I decided to do some more editing. Her patience with repeated requests for help are matched only by her insight in helping me better get across exactly the point I'm trying to make. Thanks, Dragon!

_ **May  
Two and a half years after the accident  
Age 16** _

Jazz took a breath as she stood on the roof of her parents' house, just outside the door to the Op-Center. The bizarre, metal addition tacked onto the roof was such a familiar part of her mental landscape, she rarely noticed it anymore, yet now she couldn't tear her eyes away. She found herself examining, as if for the first time, every pipe, gauge, and gizmo that stuck out at odd angles from the mammoth, blimp-shaped thing that more than doubled the height of their home. How her father had gotten around local zoning codes, she'd never know.

Grimacing, she chided herself for stalling. What was she afraid of? With all she'd seen over her eighteen years living in this house—with Jack and Maddie Fenton for parents—what was so daunting about going in and meeting one teenage girl?

A half-ghost girl that Vlad Masters had _created._ Out of her little brother's DNA.

Taking another fortifying breath, she reached for the door handle and let herself in. The interior of the Op-Center wasn't nearly as outlandish as the exterior. Basically a large, circular room rimmed with computers, scopes, and scientific gadgets of every kind, it served as a sort of nerve center for FentonWorks. In the far corner, there was an area set off by plastic curtains, beside which her parents were standing with their heads bent over some paperwork.

They looked up when she entered, her mother's lips curving into a smile. "Hi, sweetie. Thanks for coming so quickly. I know you're getting ready for exams."

Jazz only nodded in response as she approached the makeshift infirmary. Through a gap in the translucent plastic curtains, she could see Danny sitting in a chair beside a hospital bed. He was talking to its occupant, a young teenage girl with long, black hair pulled back into a ponytail at the nape of her neck, and shaggy bangs swept to the side to frame round, blue eyes. Danny must have told her one of his lame jokes, because she was rolling those eyes at him in a way that couldn't quite cover the fact that she was trying not to laugh.

She looked so much like Danny it was scary.

Jazz twisted a strand of her own long, red hair nervously around her finger as she turned to her parents. "That's her?"

Her father jerked his head in confirmation, his eyes guarded. "That's her."

"And she's really Danny's…?" Jazz couldn't say the word—couldn't even wrap her mind around the _concept_.

The smile on her mother's face faded into a more sober expression, her indigo eyes darkening. "Yes. We weren't sure until we did the DNA test, but it was conclusive."

Jazz swallowed. "Wow. And Vlad did this?"

She saw her father clench his fist, and it looked like a vein in his neck was going to pop. Her mother put her hand on his shoulder, nodding.

"And you're going to adopt her?" Jazz knew it was a foregone conclusion, but everything was so surreal, she had to ask logistical questions just to keep herself grounded.

Her mom sighed. "I don't know about adopt. There are… legal issues. She has no birth certificate, no social security number… In the eyes of the law, she doesn't exist. But she's going to live with us, and we're going to be her guardians. We'll tell everyone the same story she came up with in the first place: she's a distant cousin, and her parents died, leaving us the only relatives to care for her. We'll cross the I.D. bridge when we come to it. Like when it's time to register for school. She'll have to be homeschooled over the summer to make sure she's caught up to other kids her age—her physical age, not her actual chronological age. Based on what we can extrapolate from what she and Danny know about her origins, we're saying she just turned fourteen this month, which means she'd be finishing up eighth grade. I'd like to enroll her in Casper High in the fall, if she's ready."

Jazz nodded, feeling numb. Their "cousin." Danny's—

"Are you guys just gonna stand out there gawking like this is some zoo exhibit, or is Jazz gonna come in and meet her cousin?"

Jazz was startled to see Danny and the girl—her name was Danielle—looking at them with matching arched eyebrows and crossed arms. Once again, Jazz was struck by the eerie resemblance. Giving them a sheepish smile, she parted the plastic curtain and approached the bedside, her parents behind her.

"Dani, this is my big sister, Jazz." Danny flashed a mischievous grin. "She's a huge pain in the butt, as you'll soon find out. Lucky for us, she's a freshman at Crane College, which is in Canterville, and she lives on campus, so she's only around on weekends. That's, like, more than seventy-five percent less annoyance per week."

His wisecracking helped cut through the tension Jazz was feeling, reminding her that he was still the same person, still her little brother, and that this new addition to their lives couldn't change that, no matter how bizarre her origins. Which, Jazz realized, was probably his intention in the first place.

She shot him a _look_. "You figure out that percentage all by yourself? You must be doing better in math. Joke's on you, though. School's almost out, and I'll be home all summer." While Danny gave an exaggerated groan, Jazz reached her hand out to Danielle. "Ignore him. I'm sure we'll get along just fine. It'll be nice to have another girl in the house. It'll raise the average household IQ."

Danielle snickered as she took Jazz's hand. "I like you already." Then, she looked up at Jazz's mom. "So, Maddie. You're the doctor around here, right?"

Maddie crossed her arms, looking uncomfortable. "Well, I'm not a medical doctor, no. But I have a doctorate in parabiology and chemistry, and I'm probably the closest thing to a doctor for half-ghosts."

"Good enough for me. What I wanna know is, when will I be strong enough to help fight Vlad?"

Danny looked down, and their parents exchanged uneasy glances. Maddie took a breath. "I don't know, sweetie. The ectoranium screwed up your system pretty badly. There's… there's a really good chance you're never going to have full use of your ghost powers."

Jazz watched as Danielle absorbed this news, her face going slack. "Oh."

Danny took her hand. "It doesn't matter. You're gonna live here now, with us, in the Human World. You're gonna go to school with me next year, and you can hang out with me and my friends—even though normally seniors wouldn't be caught dead with freshmen. We'll make an exception for you."

She looked around at the eyes that were all on her, and Jazz felt extremely awkward, like she was a voyeur to someone else's private moment. At last, Danielle's eyes fell on Danny. "All I've ever been is a ghost, really. How can I not be anymore?"

"You're still a halfa, Dani. You'll still have some powers. You just… you probably won't be able to _go_ ghost. But I swear, I'll make it up to you." He gripped her hand until Jazz thought he might break it. "I am so sorry. I promise I'll make it okay. Vlad's not gonna win this war, and he's gonna pay for everyone he hurt, one way or another. I promise."

She gave him a weak smile. "I wish I could help. There're a few things I'd like to say to 'dear old dad.'"

Danny dropped her hand and stood up so fast he knocked his chair over. "Don't call him that. _Ever_. He is _not_ your dad, and he never was."

It felt like the air was sucked out of the room. Dani blinked up at her "cousin." "I—"

"You wanna know what a dad is?" Danny pointed an outstretched arm at their father. "_That's_ a dad. Someone who loves you and looks out for you. Who has your best interest at heart. Plasmius is incapable of ever being a real dad. He's just… he's nothing more than a nut job with a science degree and a chemistry set. Don't ever, _ever_ give him credit for anything more."

Danielle looked down, twisting the bed sheet in her hands. "But he… he _made_ me."

"Yeah. Out of _me_. That makes you a _Fenton_. You always have been, and you always will be."

Before she could say anything more, Danny turned and walked out of the infirmary, then left the Op-Center beyond, slamming the door behind him.

The rest of them looked at each other uncomfortably, and then Jazz's mom sighed. "I should—"

But her dad put a hand on her arm to stop her. "No, let me. You girls stay here with Danielle." And he went out after his son.

Dani was blinking fast, as if trying to hold back tears. "Did I… did I say something wrong? Is he mad at me?"

"No, sweetie." Maddie righted the chair Danny had overturned and sat down next to the bed. "He's not mad at you. He's mad at Vlad. He's really, really angry at what Vlad did to you."

"He's mad at _himself_." Jazz didn't even realize she'd spoken aloud until her mother shot her a stern look.

Danielle just looked quizzical. "Why would he be mad at himself?"

Her mom gave her another warning look, but Jazz had already opened the can of worms, so she had to answer. "For letting you get hurt. He really cares about you, Dani." It felt weird saying that. A couple of hours ago, she hadn't even known this girl existed. But in the few short minutes she saw of her brother interacting with her, Jazz knew it was absolutely true. He loved her, and he was beating himself up for not protecting her.

This only served to upset Dani further. "But it's not his fault! Why would he blame himself? All he's ever done is help me. Even when I… even when I didn't deserve it."

Jazz shrugged, then came to stand by the bedside, putting one hand on her mother's shoulder and reaching for Danielle's hand with the other. Whatever discomfort she'd been feeling over Danielle evaporated as the three women—the three _Fenton_ women—came together, united. "That's the way it is with families. They feel responsible for each other. And you're family, Dani."


	16. Believe

_ **July  
Twelve years after the accident  
Age 25** _

When everything went to hell, it was only Sam's fighting instinct that kept her from completely falling apart. Danny had sacrificed himself; now it was up to her to make it count, and she couldn't afford to let him down. The lawsuit was filed almost immediately—she'd been working on it for weeks, ever since Danny first came to the decision that he had to go public. If she was honest with herself, she'd been working on it for years. For longer than she'd been a lawyer. For longer than she'd been Danny's wife. For almost as long as there was an Anti-Ecto Control Act and Danny was a half-ghost.

Tucker was a godsend. Already in town on an early summer recess to campaign for his re-election, he stayed at her side constantly, converting his entire campaign to the cause. He got her through the dizzying blur of press conferences, interviews, public appearances, and rallies with the seasoned ease of a career politician. Of course, the Fentons were wonderful as well, but it was different with Tucker. The two of them were the ones who had been there from the beginning, and now it was he more than anyone else who propped her up when she might otherwise have crumbled.

Even with Tucker's unflagging support, however, after two weeks, Sam found herself nearing exhaustion. There was yet another rally the last weekend in July, this one originally scheduled as a Re-Elect Tucker Foley event in the park, and the summer heat and humidity were oppressive. Afterwards, the Fentons beat a hasty retreat—Jack and Maddie were headed to Washington to address a symposium of para-scientists, and Jazz and Nick wanted to get their eight-month-old baby out of the heat—leaving Sam, Tucker, Valerie, and Paulina to deal with the press while Dash hovered nearby like a pit bull ready to pounce. When the press finally left, and the five of them were the only ones remaining in the parking lot west of the park, all Sam wanted to do was crawl into the nearest air-conditioned hole in the wall, curl into a fetal position, and sleep for a week. Unfortunately, she had to be in court on Monday morning for some procedural motion, and she hadn't finished reading the briefs, so sleep wasn't going to happen anytime soon.

Tucker put an arm around her. "You look like you're about to collapse."

"I _feel_ like I'm about to collapse." She leaned against him, her head resting lightly against his shoulder. Like Danny, he'd shot up their last year of high school and was a good half a foot taller than her now.

Valerie came up on her other side and slipped her arm around Sam's waist, and she took a moment to let the two of them be her crutches to keep her from falling. Then, she straightened and pulled away from them, steeling herself for the work that still lay ahead. "But collapsing isn't on the schedule."

Tucker crossed his arms in almost parental reproach. "Well, food better be. Look. We're right across from the Nasty Burger. Let's grab something there. I could go for a double-Nasty."

"Ugh. I'm not hungry, Tuck."

"They have air conditioning…"

She sighed, relenting. "Yeah, okay. But half an hour, that's it. Then I gotta get home and look at those briefs."

Tucker grinned, victorious. "You coming, Val?"

"No, you guys go ahead. I need to get home."

Sam chewed on her lower lip, anger and remorse warring within her at the unspoken reason Valerie wanted to get home. Biting back on them both, she simply asked, "How's she doing?"

"She's… coping." Valerie put a hand on Sam's shoulder and squeezed, then got into her car. Before closing the door, she looked up at Tucker. "You have a meeting with your campaign manager this afternoon, right? Anything you need me for?"

He shook his head. "No. Just stay with Dani. I'll call when I'm done."

"I guess that makes it three for lunch," Dash said as Valerie drove off. He'd been sticking to Sam like a bad case of static cling for the past two weeks.

"Make it an even four," Paulina corrected.

"Uh… who invited you guys?" Sam arched an eyebrow at both of them, but they ignored her, following behind as she and Tucker headed across the parking lot toward the fast food restaurant on the other side of the street.

In truth, she didn't mind having them around. She liked Dash, and he was handy for keeping the crowds at bay. And Paulina, as much as Sam hated to admit it, had turned out to be really, really good at running a campaign. So good that, a week ago, Sam had freed up some funds at the Human-Ecto Alliance to hire her as a full-time field manager. She was still in the process of transitioning from her job in Chicago and was only in Amity Park for the weekend, but she'd already found an apartment and would be moving sometime in August.

When the group made it across the street and Tucker pulled open the door to the Nasty Burger, Sam almost fell to her knees in gratitude as a blast of cold air hit her. A few people turned and stared as they went to the counter to order, but after some threatening looks from Dash, no one bothered them.

It wasn't until they settled into a booth with their food that the memories started flooding back, and the grief they brought with them threatened to overwhelm Sam. She exchanged glances with Tucker and saw it in his eyes, too. It wasn't right, being here with Paulina and Dash instead of Danny. This had always been _their_ hangout. The gaping hole his absence left made it almost hard to breathe.

"Maybe we should take these to go," Tucker said softly.

"Are you kidding?" Paulina tore open a salad dressing packet and squeezed sesame dressing onto her Asian chicken salad. "This is the first time I've been off my feet all day. I'm not moving for, like, three years."

"Sam?" Tucker pressed.

She gave him a weary smile. "I'm good, Tuck."

He nodded and began unwrapping his double-Nasty with cheese, while Sam picked at her tofu soy melt. She'd lost what little appetite she'd had, and the smell of Tucker's and Dash's burgers was making her queasy.

"Oh! I just remembered." Paulina put down her salad fork and dug something out of her designer tote. "I have a sample of the awareness ribbons I'm gonna order." She laid a ribbon down on the table. It had three vertical stripes—black down the center, with white edges on either side. "Black for mourning, mostly, but it's also for POWs and MIAs, and anti-terrorism. All of those are good fits with our cause."

"And the white is for ghosts?" Tucker rubbed the bridge of his nose, obviously still not used to the absence of the glasses he'd worn since he was eleven, despite the fact that he'd been wearing contacts for over a year. The red beret was still there, however—not as ubiquitous as it once was, but it was something of a trademark, so he tended to wear it during rallies and campaign events.

Paulina nodded. "That, and innocence. But mostly it's because an all-black ribbon wouldn't show up on anything in Morticia's wardrobe." She indicated Sam with a jerk of her head.

Sam gave her a weak smirk, but was too tired to bother responding. All she wanted was to finish lunch and get the heck out of here before the smell of the burgers made her puke. It was weird, that. She'd eaten at Nasty Burger for years without other people's burgers bothering her. She looked at Tucker. "You know, maybe you were right. Maybe we should—"

"Y-you're her, aren't you? Mrs. Phantom?"

Sam clenched her teeth and resisted the urge to smack Tucker for the slight grin tugging at the corners of his mouth. "It's _Fenton_," she corrected, looking up to see three teenage boys standing in a huddle near the table. They all had shaggy, shoulder-length hair in varying shades of brown, and were wearing baggy jeans and t-shirts. Two of them, including the one who had spoken to her, looked vaguely familiar.

Before any of them could say anything more, however, Dash was glaring at them. Even sitting down, he was almost their height. "Get lost. This isn't a meet-and-greet."

"I… I'm sorry." The boy who had spoken looked a little ashen and far more contrite than the minor interruption warranted, even with Dash glowering at him. "It's just I…I…" He looked down at the floor. "I'm David Zunden."

"Who?" Sam frowned, drawing a blank, but Paulina gasped.

"David Zunden? The boy from the train?"

Sam's heart almost stopped in her chest. _That's why he and his friend look familiar…_

Tucker clenched his soda cup almost hard enough to pop the top off, and Dash was out of his seat in an instant. "You gotta lot of nerve, talking to us!"

Paulina grabbed his arm and tried to pull him back into the booth. "Dash Baxter, you leave that boy alone! I've been trying to talk to him for _two weeks_!" Succeeding in pulling Dash down, she turned on her thousand-watt Paulina-smile. "Don't mind him. We've had him fixed, so he's mostly harmless."

This got an awkward titter from the boy's friends, still flanking him, but David himself looked mortified. "I… I'm so sorry."

"You should be!"

"Dash!"

Sam finally found her voice. "Both of you, stop it." She looked up at David. "Did you want to speak with me?"

"I… yeah…" Then, he shook his head. "No. I shouldn't have bothered you. I'm sorry."

His head down, he bolted, leaving his friends behind, but Sam was overcome with a sudden need to talk to this boy, to hear what he had to say, and she jumped up from her seat and went after him. "Wait!"

He stopped, but wouldn't turn around to face her.

"Come on. Let's go find a more private seat so we can talk."

"No, I… I couldn't."

She put a hand on his shoulder. "It's okay. Really. Please."

Nodding, he followed her back towards her booth. "David and I are gonna go talk for a minute. Paulina and Dash, _stay here_. Tucker…" She saw that Tucker hadn't moved. He was still white-knuckling his soda cup. "Tuck? I think maybe you should come with us."

"I don't think so." His voice was low and thick.

"Tuck. Please."

He looked up at her, his jaw clenched almost as tightly as his fist around that soda, then he nodded slowly and slid out of the booth, finally letting go of the death grip on his cup.

"Uh… David?" His friends were still standing there, shuffling their feet on the checkered tile floor. "You want us to come, too?"

David shook his head as he trailed behind Sam to an empty booth a few tables away. When they were seated, he started to look at her, but couldn't quite meet her eye. "Um… Mrs. Fenton—"

"Ugh. It's Sam. I'm too young to be 'Mrs. Fenton.' And this is Tucker Foley. He's Danny's and my closest friend."

The boy nodded. "Yeah. I've seen you on the news."

"Funny." Tucker sniffed. "I haven't been seeing _you_ on the news, and I kinda think I should be."

"Tucker…"

"No. I'm sorry, Sam. This kid did something incredibly stupid, and Danny paid for it. But has he given one public thank you? One sign of any gratitude at all? Anything to shut up all the idiots who say Danny deserved what he got? No. Dead silence. Like it doesn't even matter."

The boy looked like he wanted the ground to swallow him whole. "I am so sorry. Really, I am just… I'm so sorry."

"You don't have to be sorry." It was an effort for Sam to force her voice to remain steady. "It wasn't your fault."

"Like hell it wasn't!"

"Tucker, would you shut up!"

"You're the one who dragged me over here!" He looked at David, furious. "What were you _thinking_, walking across a train trestle?"

"I…"

Sam grunted in exasperation. "Stop it, Tucker."

"I really shouldn't have bothered you guys. I'll just go." David sounded like he was on the verge of throwing up—a feeling to which Sam could relate a little too well. He started to slide out of the booth.

Swallowing over her own nausea, Sam put a hand on his arm to stop him "No. David, please. I wanna talk to you, really. I'm not gonna lecture you about being on that trestle. Tucker is conveniently forgetting how many stupid, potentially fatal things we did when we were teenagers. We should be dead a hundred times over for all the stunts we pulled. Right, Tucker?"

Tucker remained silent.

"_Right, Tucker?"_

"Yeah. Except we were always trying to _help_."

"And you'd have us stop now? C'mon, Tuck. If anyone knows Danny, it's you. If it hadn't been this, it would've been something else. You _know_ that. There will always be someone who needs saving."

He let out a long breath, like he was releasing something he'd been holding inside too long. "Yeah, okay."

She turned back to David. "What happened to Danny is not your fault. Really. If it hadn't been you and the train, it would've been something else. That's just… that's Danny. So please don't blame yourself, because I don't blame you."

She'd said it just to placate him so that he would stay and talk to her, but as soon as the words were out of her mouth, she could feel their truth. She _didn't_ blame him, and telling him so loosened a little bit of that knot that had been in the pit of her stomach for two weeks. Not a lot, but it was a start.

He looked up, but still not quite at her, a mixture of raw emotions on his face. "I'd be dead if it weren't for him."

"I know. So would I. So would all of us."

He nodded, taking in a shaky breath. "I just… that's why when I saw you here, I had to say something. I had to… to thank you, since I can't thank him. And to say I am so, _so_ sorry. I… I actually wanted to talk to that other lady when she came by our house." He jerked his head back towards the booth where Paulina and Dash were sitting. "But my mom is completely freaked out by this whole thing, and how big it is in the news, and people camping out on our lawn and digging through our trash. She's afraid to even let me go out in public—I had to sneak out today just to hang with my friends. And… then we run into you. It's like… I was _supposed_ to talk to you. To tell you I'm sorry. And to tell you I think I finally get what he told me that night."

Sam's eyes widened. "What he told you? He said something to you?" She realized it was a stupid question as soon as she'd asked it. Of course Danny had said something to him. That's what he did. He always had some smart-aleck thing to say when he was fighting or saving someone, especially when he was feeling self-confident. And that night, he'd been so _sure_.

David nodded. "When he grabbed me, just before he made us both all ghostly and stuff—"

"Intangible," Tucker corrected. At least he was starting to sound more normal now.

"Yeah, that. Just before the train came. I'm thinking I'm pretty much dead, then all of a sudden, he grabs me and says, 'Hey, kid. Do you believe in ghosts?'"

Sam frowned. "He asked you if you believe in ghosts?"

"Yeah. Weird, huh? I mean, what kind of question is that? I grew up in Amity Park. Who the heck doesn't believe in ghosts anymore, especially in Amity Park? I even had one of those Danny Phantom plushies when I was a kid. And then, there he is, making it so the train just passes right through us, so duh, of _course_ I believe in ghosts. But… I think I get what he meant, now." For the first time in the entire conversation, he met Sam's eyes. "I've seen that video. I hear what they're saying on TV, and on the internet. That's what he was talking about, all that _hate_. He wasn't asking if I believed ghosts _exist_. He was asking if I believe _in_ them. Like, that they're not all evil like some people think. Like they deserve a chance, just like everyone else. Like the chance he was giving me."

Sam closed her eyes in a futile effort to hold back the tears that were trickling out through her lashes. After a moment, she opened them again and met Tucker's gaze as he bit his lip to keep his own emotions at bay. When she could find her voice again, she turned back to David. "So what's your answer, then? _Do_ you believe in ghosts?"

He nodded. "That's what I figured out, right when I saw you guys today. I do believe in ghosts. And I need to _do_ something about it. I… I wanna go on the news, like you said, Mr. Foley. 'Cause all the stuff everyone's saying, like he did this really horrible thing when what he did was _save my life_. It's like I completely don't matter, and it just makes me wanna…" He clenched his hands into fists. "I just want all those morons to shut up, you know?"

Sam sighed. "Yeah. I do know. And I think it's great that you wanna tell your story. It's… a fitting tribute to Danny, and I know people will want to hear what you have to say, but your mom is pretty clear that she doesn't want you involved."

"She… she doesn't get it."

"Did you tell her what you just told us?"

He shook his head slowly.

"Okay. Tell her. What you said is really beautiful, David. Maybe if you tell your mom, she'll understand why it's important. And here." Sam pulled out a business card and wrote her private cell phone number on the back. "She can call me if she wants. I'd love to talk to her, even if she still doesn't want you in the news. I just…" She looked him directly in the eye. "I want her to know that no matter what, I'm not sorry he saved your life."

He took the card from her, once again avoiding her gaze. "Okay. Thanks, Mrs.… Sam. Mr. Foley."

"Tucker. If she's too young to be Mrs. Fenton, then I'm too young to be Mr. Foley."

David nodded, then got up and rejoined his friends, while Sam and Tucker returned to the table where Paulina and Dash were waiting. Paulina leaned forward as they sat down, excitement plain on her face. "The kid's a natural! We _so_ need to get him on the news. They'll eat him up."

Sam glared at her. "You were eavesdropping?"

"Well, _yeah_. And good thing, too, since he just gave us the perfect slogan for our whole cause, especially if he tells that story to the press. We're talking billboards, buttons, bumper stickers, yard signs—"

Sam arched her eyebrow. "Don't pressure that boy or his family. If his mother calls me, I'll talk to her, but I don't want you hounding her."

Paulina eyed her. "You know you're gonna need him to testify."

"Well, yeah. Which is reason enough to not alienate his mom. I'd rather them come forward on their own rather than drag him in against his will and against his mother's wishes."

"Fine. But we don't need her permission to use the slogan, since it was Danny who said it to begin with." She picked up the black and white ribbon and held it to her chest. "'I believe in ghosts.' It's perfect."


	17. The Ghost of Christmas Present: Part V

_ **Amity Park  
December 22, 8:00 pm CST** _

Sam was looking up other cases defining "enemy combatants" when the doorbell rang. Shoving her laptop further off to the side, she pushed herself up onto her feet, grunting as she did so. So much for not having to struggle to get up yet. She gave only a cursory glance through the peephole—she already knew who it was—before pulling the door open. "Hey, Nick. I'm really sorry about this."

He shrugged as he stepped inside, stomping his feet on the doormat to get rid of the snow. "Not your fault, Sam." Tall and lean, with short-cropped, light-brown hair, Nick Reilly looked more like a soldier than a mechanical engineer. "Typical Fenton insanity. But I don't need to tell you."

"Yeah, but you and I are the ones who joined this family by choice, so who's crazier?"

"Point. So, he still messing with the system?"

Sam cocked her head towards the kitchen as she shut the front door. "Still at it. Just don't stay here all night fighting about it, okay? I'd like to get to sleep sometime before dawn."

He grinned in confirmation and started towards the kitchen. "Hey Jack! Whadja do to the system this time?"

Their father-in-law poked his head out from around the door. "Hey there, Nicky. Don't know why Jazz had you come over. I'm just making a simple update. Nothing you need to be concerned about."

"Yeah, right. Every time you make a 'simple update,' I spend three hours figuring out how to rewire it so it doesn't kill anyone. It's the whole reason I left Axion to come work at FentonWorks, remember?"

"No, you left Axion to come work at FentonWorks so you could apprentice under the Master."

Nick rolled his eyes at Sam, then disappeared into the kitchen with Jack. She could hear the argument continuing over the Christmas music playing on the stereo as she returned to her seat. For all their squabbling over anything mechanical, Jack and Nick were actually quite fond of each other, and each greatly admired the other's abilities. Their disagreements were part of their friendship, and Sam pretty much tuned it out while she looked over the text of the Military Commissions Act of 2006.

Three files and two hours later, they were still going at it. They might have stayed all night, had Maddie not called and demanded that Jack come home. He reluctantly complied, grumbling that he would be back the following day to "fix" whatever Nick was "wrecking," and then was gone.

Nick stayed almost an hour more before emerging from the kitchen, wiping his hands on a towel. "I can't decide if that man's a certified genius, or just certifiable."

"Both," Sam replied, rolling her neck to get rid of the crick she'd developed. She started to get to her feet and Nick hurried over, reaching out a hand to help pull her up. She grinned, sheepish. "Thanks. Another month, and it'll take a crane to lift me."

"Nah, you look fantastic. Just right for six months."

She rolled her eyes. "I look like the Fenton Blimp. Speaking of which, what'd he wanna do this time?"

"He wanted to have an automated defense system, kind of like the 'Anti-Creep Mode' at FentonWorks, only not based on ecto energy."

Sam arched an eyebrow. "Uh… so then how would it differentiate between the bad guys and, oh, say, me?"

"Yeah. That's pretty much the problem."

"Jazz is right. The thing _is_ gonna shoot me in my sleep."

"Nah, I shut down that portion. It's not a bad idea, though, having an automated defense to give you time to get out. If he refines it, he might have something. So long as I'm the one that gets it operational, that is."

Sam chuckled. "Thanks, Nick. Don't know what I'd do without you and Jazz."

"Perish in a Fenton Fireball of Doom."

She rolled her eyes again, then put her hand to her belly when the baby give her a particularly hard jolt. Nick's eyes narrowed in concern. "Little Nicky okay?"

She groaned, throwing up her hands in annoyance. "Not you, too! What is _with_ everyone wanting me to name the baby after them? Jack—he gets a pass, since it is his grandson, and he likes _everything_ named after him. But Dash? Paulina? Now you? I don't get it."

Nick smiled and leaned against the kitchen doorjamb. "Just so you know, I was only kidding. But… I'm not sure you get exactly what this kid means to people. Not just family, but people in general. Amity Park. There's a lot of hope riding on that kid. People want… they wanna be connected to that in some way."

Sam sighed, shaking her head. "He's not the Messiah, Nick. And he's not Rosemary's Baby, either. I wish people wouldn't try to make him one or the other. He's my _son_. And Danny's son."

"That's just it. With everything that Danny Phantom means to this town—and to everyone anywhere who recognizes what he's really about and isn't afraid of him just because he's different—the thought that he can have a son, that maybe a little piece of him can be passed down and live forever… that's huge. It brings people hope in a time when there's a lot to be afraid of."

"I don't want my son to be some sort of icon, or just 'Danny Phantom, Jr.' He's gotta have a chance to be his own person."

"I know. And I think you're exactly the kind of mom who will give him that. But don't underestimate what he means to the world."

Sam rubbed her temple as if nursing a headache. "Just thinking about being a parent at all is overwhelming enough."

"Tell me about it." Nick let out a little huff of air. "Charley's a year old, and I still look at her and wonder when her real parents are gonna show up, 'cause I can't possibly be responsible for a whole other person."

"Is it ever not terrifying?"

"I'll let you know if I get there."

"That's encouraging. You are a great dad, though. I love watching you with Charley. She's gonna be a total Daddy's Girl."

"I don't know. Do you ever see the way she watches everything? She's got a lot of her mom in her, always looking like she's scrutinizing the world."

"Heaven help us all!" Sam shook her head. "I love Jazz, but I will strangle her with my bare hands if she doesn't stop trying to psychoanalyze me. If she had her way, I'd be a quivering mass of raw nerves."

Nick cocked his head and narrowed his eyes, looking thoughtful. "You know why she does that, don't you?"

"Because she's an obsessive-compulsive control freak?"

"There's that." He gave her a half smirk, but his eyes still looked sober. "But the real reason is that focusing on someone else—you in this case—is the only thing that's keeping her from completely falling apart."

Sam frowned. "Falling apart? Jazz?"

Nick nodded. "She's terrified of losing you, and her nephew. This whole thing, what happened to Danny… it really threw her. All these years of protecting him and looking out for him, all those near misses and close calls, all the times you guys thought you'd lost him… I don't think it ever really occurred to her that the day would come when he couldn't fight back and win."

Jazz's words from earlier came back to her. _I wanna know if you think he would've fought back, if he'd have known._ Sam pressed her lips together and looked up at Nick. "That's just it. He _could've_ fought back."

"Which makes it harder, doesn't it?"

She nodded.

"I think… Jazz just always believed in her heart of hearts that he was invincible. That nothing could touch her little brother."

Sam looked down at the floor. "Yeah. I think we all thought that on some level, didn't we? It's how we got through the day, letting him do the things he did. By believing he'd always come back."

In her mind, she could hear Danny's voice, even though she hadn't been there when he'd actually said the words. _Hey, kid. Do you believe in ghosts?_

She closed her eyes. _I believe…_


	18. Drabble: Invincible

_ **August  
Two years after the accident  
Age 16** _

When the Fenton Jet crashed into the mountain in Antarctica, it hardly mattered to Jazz that Danny's failure meant doom for the planet. The only thing she could think was that her brother was _gone_.

It didn't seem possible. For two years, he'd bested everything the Ghost Zone had thrown at him. How could something as ordinary as a _mountain_ take him down?

So when he arrived moments later, unharmed and leading the horde of ghosts that would save them all, the world made sense again. Of course the mountain didn't get him. How could it? He was _Danny Phantom_.


	19. Nick

_ **June  
Five years after the accident  
Age 18** _

"Okay, Maddie! Time to fire up the grill!"

Jazz winced as her father came out the back door wearing an apron emblazoned with the words _Licensed to Grill _over his orange jumpsuit. He was carrying a platter piled high with raw hamburger patties, hotdogs, and bratwurst. It wasn't the five tons of meat products or even the apron that made her cringe, however. Rather, it was the mention of the grill.

"Dad, you are going to use a regular grill, right? Not something you invented? Remember what happened to the hotdogs that one time."

"Or the turkey that Thanksgiving when we were little," Danny added, taking a sip of his rootbeer. "C'mon, Jazz. Nothing says dinner at the Fentons' quite like food rising from the dead and attacking."

Sam smirked at them. "Karma, baby. Serves you right, eating dead animals."

"Oh, like we've never been attacked by haunted plants." Tucker arched an eyebrow at her.

"No worries, Jazzy-pants." Her father grinned as he set the platter down next to the grill in the corner of the patio. "I just added a little something to give her a bit more juice."

Jazz groaned. "Attack of the killer hamburgers it is."

Sam patted the small cooler beside her. "And that's why it pays to bring your own food to these shindigs."

Tucker grimaced. "I'd rather eat killer hamburgers than that algae you eat."

Jazz's mom, who was setting up a badminton net in the far corner of the yard with Danielle, shielded the sun from her eyes with her hand. "Jack, don't you think it's too early to start cooking? The Grays aren't here yet."

"Aw, but Maddie! I'm anxious to try out the new Fenton Ecto-powered Propane Replacement!"

Jazz looked at Sam. "Is it too late for me to go vegetarian?"

"Welcome to the fold."

Dani came across the yard to join them at the picnic table. "Thank you all _so _much for helping set up the badminton net." She reached down and grabbed a diet cola out of the ice-filled plastic wading pool beside the table.

"That's one of the fringe benefits of not living here full time, cos." Danny grinned at her. "You get treated like a guest."

She rolled her eyes. "It's summer break. You _are_ living here full-time."

Tucker looked at his watch. "So where is Valerie anyway? I thought she and her dad were gonna be here at four."

"They're bringing someone with them." Dani sat down next to Jazz and opened her soda. "Some guy who just started working at Axion. Val says he's a total hottie." She gave Tucker an impish grin.

Tucker scowled. "Greeeaaat."

"Hey, anybody home?" Damon Gray poked his head over the fence. A former marine, Mr. Gray was a burly man with dark skin, a receding hairline, a thick black mustache, and glasses that looked so much like Tucker's that Jazz wondered if they were standard issue for techno-geeks.

"Speak of the devil," Dani said.

Jack looked up from where he was tinkering with the propane tank under the grill. "Hey, D-Man, back here! Gate's open."

Mr. Gray reached over the top of the fence and opened the gate latch, then came into the back yard. Following behind were Valerie and a tall, muscular—but not _too_ muscular—young man with short-cropped, light-brown hair and deep brown eyes. Something about him looked really familiar to Jazz, and she cocked her head and narrowed her eyes, examining him. Valerie, meanwhile, slipped past her father and his guest to join their group at the picnic table. Grabbing a soda out of the wading pool, she sat down next to Tucker, but leaned across to Dani. "Told you he was a hottie."

Tucker made a face, but Dani grinned. "You did not lie."

Sam tilted her head. "Eh. Not my type."

"Better not be," Danny grumbled, but without any real animosity.

Valerie smirked. "I see Jazz likes what she sees."

Jazz blinked, looking away from the newcomer. "Huh? Oh, no. He just looks familiar."

"Riiiiiiight."

Sam frowned, leaning forward to get a better look around Danny. "You, too? I was thinking the same thing. Wonder where we've seen him before?"

Jazz's mother met Mr. Gray and his friend at the gate, giving the former a kiss on the cheek while taking a large, foil-covered bowl from him. "Hello, Damon. Is this your world-famous potato salad, I take it?"

"You know it." When he was free of the bowl, he put one hand on his companion's back. "Maddie, I'd like you to meet Nick Reilly. He's a hotshot new mechanical engineer that just started at Axion a couple weeks ago."

Maddie cradled the bowl in one hand, balancing it on her hip, and extended her other to shake hands with Nick. "Pleased to meet you, Nick."

"Pleasure's all mine," Nick replied. "Actually, when Damon mentioned he was friends with Jack and Maddie Fenton, I begged an invite. I have been dying to meet you ever since the asteroid crisis."

Jazz's father, hearing his name mentioned in a favorable light, jumped up from the grill and trotted over to greet their guest. "Hey, there. Nick, did you say?"

Nick nodded, sticking out his hand for Jack to shake. "Yes, sir. Nick Reilly."

"I'm Jack Fenton. So… heard of my work with ecto-technology, I take it?"

"Sort of." Nick smiled, and Jazz had to admit, he was rather attractive, although she couldn't fathom why he was kissing up to her dad. As he shook the larger man's hand, Nick explained, "I actually had the chance to work on some of your technology."

Her dad frowned. "How so?"

"In Antarctica."

Everything kind of stopped as everyone in the yard looked at Nick. Jazz's mom, still balancing the bowl on her hip, was trying to look casual, but Jazz could see the suspicion in her eyes. "You were in Antarctica? During the asteroid crisis, you mean? I don't remember you."

"He wasn't on the tech crew," Damon quickly clarified. "He was stationed at McMurdo, and was back at the base when… everything happened."

Translation: he wasn't one of the seventy-some people who had witnessed Danny's transformation from ghost to human. They all relaxed a little.

"I was one of the McMurdo flight mechanics," Nick added, looking at Jazz's father. "I helped strip down that jet of yours before Danny Phantom used it to bring back all those ghosts."

Sam snapped her fingers. "That's where I've seen him before!" She'd spent a good chunk of her time in Antarctica with the flight mechanics, acting as sort of a Jack-Fenton-logic-to-human-logic interpreter.

Jazz nodded. She, too, had spent some time with the mechanics working on the Fenton Jet. Not as much as Sam, but it explained why Nick looked familiar.

Her mother, however, didn't relax. If anything, she looked more tense. "So… you were with the military, then?"

Nick frowned. "Huh? Oh, no. I was a civilian working year-round on the base, not with the Air Guard. They're stationed out of New York. My dad's the Air Force guy—kept trying to get me to go to the Air Force Academy, but I'm not the military type. Looks aside." He grinned, swiping a hand over his hair, which did indeed look like a military cut. "I wasn't just a flight mechanic—I fixed all kinds of stuff around McMurdo. Kind of a glorified handyman."

At this, Maddie finally loosened up, and her smile returned. That was when Jazz realized what exactly had been bothering her. She'd been more than a little upset with the pilots on the base after they'd come looking for Danny Phantom when everything was over.

Mr. Gray clapped Nick on the back. "Don't let the kid fool you. He's way more than a glorified handyman. Got his B.S.E. at Michigan, then did a little more than a year at McMurdo before going on to get his Master's at MIT. Axion snatched him up out of grad school, and he's already the wunderkind of the mechanics side. Mechatronics, nanotechnology, robotics… you name it, he knows it. Then, when he told me he was in Antarctica and worked on your jet, Jack… well, I knew I had to bring him over and let you show him the place. Especially the Op-Center." He turned to Nick. "That big metal thing on top of the house? It actually converts into that jet you worked on. Well, I take that back—that jet crashed in Antarctica. But one just like it."

Jazz's dad beamed with pride. "I can show you around the place later, Nick. Right now, I was just getting ready to grill up dinner. You wanna check out the modifications I made to the propane tank to get better fuel efficiency? Uses ecto-power."

"Jack, let the poor man get a drink or something first." Her mother's eyes were much warmer now as she turned to their guest. "Nick, why don't you help yourself to a soda or a beer—I assume you're over twenty-one?"

"Twenty-six."

"Okay, then. Beer and soda are both over in that plastic pool by the picnic table."

"Oh, come on. He can have a beer anytime, Maddie. He's gotta see the Fenton Ecto-powered Propane Replacement before I fire her up to get the burgers going." With that, Jack dragged Nick off toward the grill.

* * *

It was a good hour before Nick escaped from Jack's clutches, leaving Mr. Gray to help him grill the burgers while Maddie hovered nearby with both a fire extinguisher and the Fenton Foamer, ready for either natural or ecto-based disaster. Nick came over to the picnic table, wiping his forehead with the back of his arm. "Cold drinks?"

Jazz nodded towards the wading pool. "Right there."

"Hey Nick, have a seat and meet everyone," Valerie said as Nick fished out a beer. "Most of us were there for Operation Spirit."

He sat down at the end of the table next to Jazz while Valerie made introductions. "Danny is the Fentons' son—he was with them for the most part, laying cables across the globe." That was the story they'd told everyone else to explain Danny Fenton's absence while Danny Phantom was around, anyway. "And Tucker Foley was the guy who headed up the whole construction of that antenna."

Nick's eyes widened. "Oh, yeah, I remember you. Not in person, but from the news. Pretty damned smart for a… how old were you, then?"

Tucker beamed. "Sixteen."

"Damn. You studying engineering?"

"Computer Information Systems, actually, at Purdue Calumet. I was thinking about doing Computer Engineering, but I'm also minoring in poli-sci, so I.S. was a better fit."

"Poli-sci?"

"Tucker was also Mayor of Amity Park at sixteen." Valerie put her hand on Tucker's shoulder. "He resigned last summer to go to college."

Nick whistled. "I repeat: damn! Well, speaking as an engineer, I hope you stick with the tech side instead of politics. That was quite a project in Antarctica. I wanted to work on it myself, but we had too much stuff to do back at the base with the influx of so many people. We don't usually have more than three hundred residents during the winter."

"I keep trying to convince him to stick with I.S. and stay outta politics," Valerie said. "Maybe he'll listen to you." Then, she continued the introductions. "This is Danielle Fenton, Danny's cousin. She came to live with the Fentons about a year after the asteroid crisis, so she missed out on all the fun."

Danielle arched her eyebrow, but didn't say anything. In truth, she had been there—but as one of the ghosts.

Valerie continued. "The girl in black is Danny's girlfriend, Sam Manson, and last but not least, this is the Fentons' daughter, Jazz."

Nick looked back and forth between Jazz and Sam. "Yeah, I remember you two. You helped us figure out what the heck was up with that jet."

Sam snorted. "After you've been around a while, the way Mr. Fenton's mind works actually starts to… well, not make sense, exactly. But you can kinda see where he's going."

Nick grinned. "After a _long_ while, I'm guessing. Whatever he did to that grill?" He shook his head. "I'm so not having a hamburger tonight."

Jazz wasn't sure she liked this stranger poking fun at her father. It was one thing for family, or for as-good-as-family, like Sam, but just because this guy was some "wunderkind" didn't give him the right to look down on her father. "Dad's inventions are a little… unconventional, but they get the job done."

He turned to her. "Oh, I don't doubt that. That's one of the reasons I wanted to meet the guy. I was blown away by that jet, and how it was, like… everything that should never, _ever_ be done in mechanics, but it worked."

"That's our dad." Danny chuckled.

"It was _amazing_. I'd wanted to meet him while you were all still at McMurdo, but you guys didn't show up at the celebration party after the asteroid passed through us, and they pretty much had you all bugged out by the time I got up the next day, so I never got the chance. I was really stoked when I found out Damon was in Antarctica and actually was friends with your dad." This mollified Jazz somewhat—until the next thing he said: "So, I gotta ask you. Aren't you also the girl that was dating Danny Phantom?"

The reaction around the table was instantaneous. Tucker, Sam, and Valerie burst out laughing. Danielle just gaped, and Jazz shouted out, "I did not date Danny Phantom!" at the exact same moment as Danny cried, "She did not date Danny Phantom!"

"Uh… is there something I should know about, _cousin_?" Danielle asked Danny.

Danny just glared in response.

Nick put his hands up, startled. "Whoa. Didn't mean to touch a nerve, there."

Jazz clenched her teeth, calming herself. "Sorry. That rumor took a long time to quash, and I don't really like it any more now than I did then."

"Don't like the idea of being hooked up with a ghost, huh?"

This time it was Sam who nearly exploded. "And what's wrong with that?"

Danny slumped down in his seat. "Oh boy, here we go."

Undaunted, Sam continued her tirade. "I'm just saying. Why should ghosts be any different than anyone else? They're sentient beings who deserve equal rights and equal treatment."

Nick blinked. "Okay, I seem to be putting my foot in my mouth all over the place. I've got nothing against ghosts, okay? I even met Danny Phantom briefly while we were working on that jet. Seemed like a nice guy… ghost… whatever. I just was wondering."

"Sam's working on starting up a ghost-rights group to fight against the anti-ecto laws." Danny glared at his girlfriend. "That's why she _overreacts_ when people bring up ghosts."

"Really?" Nick smiled at Sam. "That's cool. The anti-ecto laws never did make much sense to me. I mean, the ghosts all saved the world, and instead of being grateful, we've got a whole government agency devoted to hunting them all down? I don't get it."

This calmed her down considerably. "Exactly! And… sorry about jumping down your throat. It's just that, with the presidential primaries less than a year away, the 'blame it all on the ghosts' smearing has already begun, and it really bugs me. So, yeah, I guess I overact a little."

Danny eyed her. "A little?"

"We're all pretty concerned." Jazz looked at Nick. "You're kind of new to Amity Park, but Danny Phantom is pretty important to people around here, and those of us who've had the pleasure of working with him resent the way the government views him just because he's different."

Nick nodded, then turned to Sam again. "So is your ghost-rights group at your college or something?"

She shook her head. "It'll be an actual five-oh-one-C-four non-profit, eventually. Maybe with a PAC arm, depending on how heavily we wanna get into elections. I just got in touch with a lawyer who might be willing to be a consultant to help me get it off the ground, since I'm still a student."

"She's already got a fund set up and everything," Tucker added. "She's… kinda loaded."

"Tucker." She let out an exasperated huff of air. "Would you—"

A loud explosion drew their attention toward the grill. Jazz's mom was hosing everything down with the Fenton Foamer while Mr. Gray manned the fire extinguisher. Her father emerged from the smoke, coughing, and wiped green residue off his face. "So," he said brightly, "who's up for pizza?"

Nick chuckled. "I'm guessing this sorta thing happens a lot around here?"

Jazz thunked her head down onto the table. "Welcome to barbecuing with the Fentons."

Over her head, she heard Tucker tell Nick, "Look at it this way: if we order pizza, we know for sure it won't get up and try to kill us."

* * *

They played badminton while they waited for the pizza to come, and then Nick sat next to Jazz again while they ate, asking her about ghosts, and her studies, and life at FentonWorks. After dinner, her father and Mr. Gray dragged him up to the Op-Center while Danny and Tucker helped Maddie scrape ecto-foam off the grill and the other four women cleared the table.

"So, Jazz." Valerie gave her a gentle nudge with her elbow while trying to balance a stack of empty pizza boxes in her arms. "Did you notice the way Nick was checking you out?"

Jazz rolled her eyes. "He wasn't checking me out. He's trying to figure out my dad."

"Yeah… I don't think so."

"I think Val is right," Sam said, coming up behind them.

Dani started singing. "Jazz and Ni-ick, sitting in a tree…"

"Oh, grow up! You're sixteen, Dani!"

"Technically, I'm only four."

Jazz glared at her.

Valerie elbowed her again. "Come on, Jazz. You like him too, don't you?"

"I dunno." Jazz shrugged. "I guess he's nice enough. And he is really smart. I mean, MIT!"

Sam smirked at her. "Oh, yeah. She likes him. And he's already seen a typical day at the Fentons' and didn't run away screaming. I think you have a keeper."

* * *

Around the time that Danny and Tucker broke out the Supersoakers and started going after Sam and Valerie, Jazz retreated into the house to stay out of the line of fire. She'd left one of her textbooks, _The Coherence of Personality: Social-Cognitive Bases of Consistency, Variability, and Organization_, out in the living room earlier, and she picked it up now, settling down onto the couch to thumb through its well-worn pages.

"Wow. Not exactly light summer reading."

She looked up, blushing a little when she saw Nick coming down the stairs. "Everyone says I need to lighten up, but I love this stuff."

He flopped down on the couch beside her, not too close, but not exactly at the opposite end, either. "I'm guessing that figuring out how the mind works is how someone like you survived in a family like this."

Jazz bristled. "I love my family."

"Oh, man, I did it again." He sighed. "I wasn't insulting them. I think they're great. Your dad…" He shook his head. "He's nuts. And I mean that as the highest form of praise. My dad is all stiff and formal and so… military. Everything has to be by the book."

"You seem pretty by-the-book yourself. The way you look at mechanics, anyway."

"Yeah. I guess I did get that from my dad. But I _appreciate_ guys like your dad. Although… I don't know that I'd wanna live in a house full of his stuff…" He looked around the room, as if expecting something to jump out at him.

Jazz laughed. "You don't know the half of it. The stories I could tell you."

"Why don't you? Maybe at dinner tomorrow night?"

"Oh, no. Don't tell me my dad roped you into helping work on something-or-other in the Op-Center."

He looked confused a minute, then shook his head. "No. I meant just you and me. As in, can I take you out to dinner? I… sort of have a confession to make. When I asked you about Danny Phantom? I was kinda trying to find out if you were seeing anyone."

"Oh." Jazz blushed again. "No, I'm not seeing anyone."

"Then would you have dinner with me? Unless… your brother's not gonna kill me, is he?"

"Who, Danny?"

"Yeah. He seems… kinda protective of you, the way he got really ticked when I asked about you and Danny Phantom."

She snorted. "Yeah, I guess he's protective, but I decide who I go out with, not him."

"Then will you go out with me?"

"I… yeah. I guess that would be fine."

He smiled. "Good."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _The Coherence of Personality: Social-Cognitive Bases of Consistency, Variability, and Organization _is an actual Psychology textbook, edited by Daniel Cervone and Yuichi Shonda. I have no idea what's in it or if it's any good, but I love the title. It's so _Jazz_.


	20. Thicker than Water: Part I

_ **November  
Five years after the accident  
Age 19** _

First it was the ghosts. They weren't any of the usual suspects—poltergeists, mostly, and they didn't cause any real problems, just a lot of mischief and minor vandalism. But there were a lot of them, and they came more and more frequently as it got closer to Halloween. It became such a problem that Jack, Maddie, and Danielle couldn't handle the overrun on their own, and Danny, then Sam, Tucker, Valerie, and finally Jazz, started staying overnight in Amity Park even on weeknights and commuting to school, or sometimes skipping classes altogether so they could get some sleep after spending entire nights sucking poltergeists into Fenton Thermoses to be released back into the Ghost Zone, only to have them return the next day, and in greater numbers.

Then came the Guys in White. They showed up on Halloween night, vowing to clean up the "Ectoplasmic Invasion," for which they blamed Danny Phantom. They'd done a pretty good job of it, too, mostly because instead of releasing the captured ghosts back into the Ghost Zone, they kept them, taking them to whatever secret installation it was that they took ghosts.

It meant that there was less work for Danny and the others, so they didn't have to stick around Amity Park and could get back to focusing on school—in theory. In practice, the presence of the Guys in White was much more worrisome and distracting, not to mention dangerous for Danny to be around much at all. Danielle, too, even though her powers were diminished. It seemed as if the town had been overrun by white suits and ecto-signature tracking equipment, leaving the entire Fenton family on edge, and Danny and Danielle practically living in Fenton Ecto-flage belts, which Jack had invented not long after finding out that Danny was half-ghost. They looked like Specter Deflectors, only instead of repelling ghosts, they masked Danny's and Danielle's ecto-signatures from any sort of tracking equipment.

The first weekend in November, Jazz came home, partly to help Danny and the others figure out exactly why so many low-level ghosts were getting loose in Amity Park, but mostly to spend time with Nick. The first reason was made more difficult by the presence of the Guys in White and the need for Danny to stay low profile. This in turn put Jazz in too foul a mood to really enjoy the second reason.

"I don't get it, Jazz." They'd just come from Queequeg's Coffee, where a foursome of Guys in White had shown up, causing Jazz to storm out in a huff. Now they were walking through the park, hoping the brisk air would help her work out the frustration.

She gave him a peevish look. "What don't you get, Nick? Why I'm angry at the way they came in and practically took over our town? Why their complete overkill methods for dealing with the ghost equivalent of teenage pranksters bothers me? Or why I resent them blaming Danny Phantom, who's never done anything but help this town?"

Nick sighed. "No, no, and no. All of that I get. I do, Jazz. I just… I don't get why you can't let it go. I mean, you all were running yourselves ragged going after all those ghosts, and now someone else is doing it for you, so can't you at least sit back and enjoy the respite?"

"No, I can't."

He let out a huff of air and cocked his head sideways to look at her. "What aren't you telling me?"

"Nothing. I… nothing."

It wasn't the first time he'd asked her that. And as long as she was keeper of her brother's secret, it wouldn't be the last. It was a constant battle with herself, how to reconcile the desire to let Nick into every part of her life, and the desire to protect Danny and his secret at all costs. If things kept going the way they were with Nick—and she really hoped they would—then she would have to tell him eventually. But until she was sure, until she knew this was someone who was going to be in her life for a long time, she couldn't do it. She'd already been largely responsible for the nearly eighty people in Antarctica finding out. She didn't want to be responsible for even one more.

But Nick was growing less and less patient with her evasiveness. He came around in front of her and stood in her way, blocking her path, and took her by the shoulders. "Don't give me 'nothing.' It's not nothing. I know your family has some past bad experiences with the Guys in White, but not enough to explain the way you all are completely wigged by the feds, acting like you have something to hide. What are you hiding, Jazz?"

She tried to laugh it off. "Come on, Nick. You saw the Op-Center the first time you met us. You've seen the basement lab, the Ghost Portal, and you've met _my father_. You've even gone ghost hunting with us. What other skeletons could we possibly have in our closet more embarrassing than any of that?"

He was not amused. "That's what worries me."

"Nick—"

"Jazz, I love you."

That went a long way toward improving her mood. It wasn't the first time he'd said that, either, but it was still just new enough to make her catch her breath every time she heard those words. She let a little of the tension drain out of her. "I love you, too."

"Then open up to me! I feel like… like there's this wall between us, and I don't know why. What have I done to make you not trust me?"

"I trust you, Nick."

"Then talk to me! 'Cause I feel like I'm living in limbo. Like… there's this huge _thing_ that's lurking in the shadows—"

There was a rustle in the bushes behind them, and Jazz put up one hand to stop Nick while she reached into her coat with the other, searching for the plasma weapon she kept there. She'd just gotten her hand around it when something enormous, black, and ecto-green hurled itself at her from the bushes, snarling like a wild animal. She couldn't get her weapon clear fast enough, and she stumbled backwards, screaming, as the thing came bearing down on her. She could hear Nick shout her name, and then it was on top of her, knocking her down onto the path. She thought she was dead, that the beast was going to tear out her throat but, instead, it stopped and sniffed her. _"Fratino!"_

And then, with a mammoth tongue, the thing _licked_ her.

"EWWWWW _gross_!"

"Jazz! Are you—" Nick sounded panicked at first, but stopped short when he saw the beast licking her. "Oookkay. It looks like you've made a friend."

"Get! It! OFF! ME!"

"How?"

"I don't care!"

"_Fratino!"_ The creature sounded almost joyful, and it jumped back, panting like a happy puppy.

"Uh…" Nick scratched the back of his head. "Did that thing just speak Esperanto?"

"What?" Jazz scrambled to her feet, backing away from the monster, which looked like a gigantic black wolf. In a glowing, green sweat suit. "How the heck should I know?"

"It's just… I think it just said 'sister' in Esperanto."

The wolf-ghost-thing looked like it was grinning. _"Jes! La fratino de mia amiko estas mia amiko ankaŭ."_ Then it slurped her with its tongue again.

"EW! Stop that! I—wait." She looked at Nick. "Did you say it said 'sister'?" She grit her teeth. _Danny. I am going to _kill_ him…_

"I… think so. My Esperanto is a little rusty."

"You know Esperanto, and you accuse me of having skeletons in _my_ closet?" She reached into her pocket and pulled out her cell phone, hitting the speed dial.

Danny answered on the second ring. "Everything okay, Jazz? You see more of those poltergeists?"

"You wouldn't by any chance happen to know a giant, slobbering ghost-wolf that speaks Esperanto, would you?"

"Wulf!"

"That's what I said, a ghost-wolf—"

"No, that's his name. Is he—?"

"About ready to lick me to death. Jumped me in the park and scared about ten years off my life."

"Wulf jumped you in the park? That can't be good."

"Tell me about it! I nearly had a heart attack!"

"No, I mean, if Wulf is in Amity Park, then Walker can't be far behind."

"Thank you for your concern. And who?"

"Walker. He's, like, a self-appointed jail warden in the Ghost Zone. Think… the ghost version of the Guys in White. Makes up his own rules, doesn't like when humans and ghosts fraternize, doesn't mind a little torture to get the job done. He even dresses like the Guys in White, come to think of it."

"Okay, I get the picture."

"I helped Wulf get away from him a few years ago. Remember when all those ghosts were overshadowing people, and Mom and Dad formed those lame 'Ghostkateers' and everything? That was Walker and his Goons. He must be up to something if Wulf is here. Listen, Jazz. You gotta keep Wulf safe until I can get there. Don't let any other ghosts near him. Or the Guys in White, either."

"Danny… he's an enormous monster! How am I supposed to—?"

"Just tell him I'm coming, and to stay with you. Uh… _'Danny venas. Rest kun mi.'_"

Jazz pulled the phone away from her ear to give it an incredulous look, then put it back again. "You're kidding me."

"Just do it, Jazz. I'll be there in a minute."

"Yeah, well the Guys in White are still all over town, so come as you are, got it?"

He sighed. "Yeah, I got it. Give me ten minutes, if I have to walk."

Jazz hung up and looked at the beast. "Uh… Hi. Wulf, is it? _Danny venas. Rest kun mi."_

"_Amiko!"_ It made as if to lick her again, and she backed away with her hands up.

"No! Bad dog!"

* * *

The ghosts attacked before Danny got there. First, it was just a couple of them, broad-shouldered, with ecto-tails instead of legs, and outfitted like police officers in riot gear. Wulf went ballistic, snarling and snapping at them as they tried to shoot him with weapons that looked like nightsticks, but shot like laser rifles. Jazz tossed a Fenton Blaster at Nick, and the two of them were able to fight back the ghosts and keep them from hurting Wulf. But then there were dozens of them, not just going after the ghost wolf, but attacking the city at large.

Jazz and Nick made a run for it, Wulf behind them. They ducked behind a tree, leaning their backs against it to catch their breath while Jazz looked for her Fenton Thermos in her coat.

Nick stared at her. "Geez, Jazz, how much stuff do you have in there?"

She found the Thermos and produced it with a smile. "You're dating a Fenton, Nick. Learn to pack a lot of heat. Now, cover me." She peeked out from behind the tree, aiming her Thermos at the ghost nearest her. She managed to snag it, sucking it into the ice-blue vortex and capturing it inside, but there were instantly half a dozen more to replace it.

"We are really outnumbered," Nick said.

"You think? We're gonna need some—"

A bolt of green ectoplasm from above blasted away two ghosts in one shot. "Backup," Jazz finished, looking skyward as Danny zoomed into view, hurling a mass of ectoplasm in one direction while shooting ice in another. He cleared out enough of the ghosts to land beside her and Nick, giving them a few moments to breathe.

"Need a hand? I—"

He was cut off when Wulf bounded up to him. _"Amiko!"_

Danny held up his hands. "Whoa. Good to see you, too, Wulf!" He looked around the mammoth creature towards Jazz and Nick. "I, uh… ran into your brother, Ms. Fenton, and he told me Wulf was here. The ghosts attacking are definitely Walker's Goons, but I haven't seen Walker yet."

Jazz put her hands on her hips. "What do you think you're doing? You're supposed to be laying low! This whole town is still crawling with Guys in White."

"Yeah, but where are they? When it was just a bunch of poltergeists and some minor vandalism, they were all over that action, but when a real threat to the town shows up…"

"Still. It isn't safe for you."

"I'll be okay. Gotta protect the town." He glanced at Nick before looking back at Jazz. "Your brother's with your parents, and they headed out towards the Lake District to fight off a bunch of Goons there. His friends are on their way here, to the park. I need to find Walker." He turned to Wulf. _"Kie estas Walker?"_

Wulf shrugged. _"Mi ne sci. Mi venis tie ĉi averti vin, sed mi estas tro malfrua. Walker liberigis la poltergeists en via urbo. Li estas kolera tio, ke homa urbo havenoj fantomo 'fuĝanto'—vi. Li diras tio estas 'kontraŭ la reguloj.'"_

Jazz frowned and looked at Danny. "Did you understand that?"

"A little. I think he's saying that Walker is the one who sent the poltergeists. Something about punishing Amity Park for 'harboring a ghost fugitive,' by which he means me. Walker says that's 'against the rules,' his favorite catch-phrase." Danny shook his head. "See, I told you he's the ghost version of the Guys in White."

A pink blast cut off any further conversation, and they had to defend themselves from another wave of "goons," as Danny called them. More help came from above as Valerie zoomed into sight on her jet sled, and Jazz couldn't help but take a moment to marvel how fluid she was with on that thing, like it was a part of her. Well, it _was_ a part of her, come to think of it. Jazz didn't know the entire history of Valerie and her battle suit, but she did know that the one she had now was not exactly the same as the one that Vlad had given her when she was fourteen. Technus, the ghost of technology, had destroyed the original in a brawl with Danny several months later, and then had somehow used his powers to bond the broken pieces of it to Valerie herself, creating a sort of ghost-powered super-suit/jet-sled combo that Valerie could conjure up out of nothing merely by willing it into existence. It wasn't all that different from the way Danny could go ghost simply by wanting to.

Now that Valerie used her strange gear and remarkable skills to fight _with_ Danny instead of _against_ him, they made a brilliant team, and as they attacked the swarm of police-like ghosts in perfect synchronization from the air, Jazz, Nick, and Wulf fought a less refined battle on the ground. With the extra help, they had an easier time beating back the ghosts, and then the last few scattered completely when the Specter Speeder roared into view. Its hatch opened, and Tucker, Sam, and Danielle poured out, each armed with a Fenton Bazooka and a Thermos. Danny and Valerie landed beside them, both of them glaring at Danielle.

She held up her hands before they could say anything. "I know, I know. Keep the Ecto-flage on and use the Bazooka. I'm not gonna attract the attention of the Guys in White."

Danny looked at Sam. "Make sure she doesn't."

Sam nodded and looked like she was about to say something else, but Danny cut her off. "I need to find Walker. Hunter, you come with me." That was what they publicly called Valerie whenever she was suited up in order to protect her identity. "The two of us can cover the most ground. The rest of you do what you can to keep the Goons from destroying the town. Wulf. _Rest kun miaj amikoj. Mi trovos Walker."_

Jazz called out to stop him before he could take off. "Wait! You can't just be flying around town! The Guys in White—"

"I'll be fine. Just watch my back. Like you always do." Then, he smiled at her before taking off into the sky.

* * *

The Goons were everywhere, and their group split up to tackle them. Sam and Danielle headed west, towards the high school. Tucker took Wulf and drew off a whole horde of Goons northeast to the far end of the park. Jazz and Nick went south, fighting their way through ghosts and crowds of humans who were running screaming in every direction. They ended up behind the small amphitheater where the Amity Park Community Theater group did Shakespeare in the Park each summer. Jazz had just gotten two more ghosts into a Fenton Thermos, which was now full to overflowing, when a sharp whine of feedback from the sound system speaker just over her head made her drop the Thermos and cover her ears with her hands. A deep, throaty voice rang out over the speaker: "Humans of Amity Park. You have harbored the ghost Danny Phantom in your world for too long. You can't run from your punishment. That would be against the rules."

Jazz poked her head out from behind the bandshell to see a tall, humanoid ghost in a white suit with black boots, black gloves, and a black fedora standing on the stage talking into the microphone. She looked back at Nick. "I'm guessing that's this Walker guy Danny Phantom is looking for."

"What should we—?"

A blast of ectoplasm from above knocked the white-suited ghost off his feet and Danny soared into view. "Hey Walker! My town, _my_ rules."

Walker jumped back to his feet. "We'll see about that, punk." He created a ball of pink energy in his hands and hurled it at Danny.

The Goons converged, and Jazz and Nick got busy keeping them off of Danny's back while he fought Walker. Jazz got so absorbed in blasting ghosts in riot gear that she lost track of where Danny and Walker were fighting and almost everything else around her until she heard Nick groan. "Great. _Now_ here come the feds."

"What?" Then, she saw them. Dozens of humans in white suits and jet packs. Ignoring the Goons who were still wreaking havoc in the park, they converged on the place where Danny was shooting down at Walker from the air. Jazz cried out in warning. "DANNY! BEHIND YOU!" Then she aimed her Fenton Blaster at the one nearest him. Just as she got him in her sights and was about to squeeze the trigger, she was suddenly knocked to the ground.

"Jazz! What are you doing? You can't shoot at federal operatives!"

Jazz grunted in frustration and rolled away from Nick. "Watch me!" Without bothering to get to her feet, she went to take aim again, but she was too late. A blast from one of the Guys in White hit Danny in the back, and he dropped from the sky like dead weight. Jazz gasped. "NOOOOOOO!"

Scrambling to her feet, she tried to aim again, but Nick grabbed her once more. "Jazz, stop! Do you have any idea what they'll do to you for assaulting a federal officer?"

She batted him aside. "I'm more concerned about what they'll do to him!" She looked around wildly, having lost where they were. She saw a group of Guys in White shooting at something on the stage, but realized that was Walker. Others were clearing Walker's Goons away from the amphitheater. _Where's Danny? Where's—_

And then she saw him. A pair of Guys in White—they looked like Operatives O. and K., the ones who caused him the most grief—had ensnared him in some sort of ghost net. He was lying motionless inside, unconscious, she guessed. Then, they trained some sort of beam on him that sucked him into a boxy-looking device. Before Jazz could even bring her weapon up to try and squeeze a shot off, they fired up their jet packs and were gone, taking Danny with them.


	21. Thicker than Water: Part II

_ **November  
Five years after the accident  
Age 19** _

Jazz inhaled sharply. "No! Danny!"

Nick grabbed her arm. "Come on, we've gotta get out of here before—"

"LET GO OF ME!" She threw him off, furious. "I could have stopped them if you hadn't gotten in the way!"

"Are you _insane_? These aren't a bunch of ghosts, Jazz! They're from the United States government!"

"I don't care! They've got my… they got Danny Phantom and _I was supposed to have his back_! That was my job, and now he's—" The impact of what just happen hit her. "Oh, no. They've captured him. The government _captured_ him."

Nick gaped at her. "This is the same ghost that saved the entire planet from an asteroid! I think he can handle a few feds!"

"You don't understand! He's unconscious, and if he…" _If he reverts to human, they'll know who and what he is, and we'll never see him again._ But there was no way to explain that to Nick.

"So what is this, Jazz? Is this what you've been keeping from me? All that denial that you had something going on with him during the asteroid crisis… was that a lie? Do you have some sort of thing for this ghost?"

She stared at him. "A _thing_…? Are you kidding me with this?" She shook her head, letting out a grunt of irritation. "I so don't have time to do the _Star Wars_ thing with you, Nick!"

"The…? What's that supposed to mean?"

But she was already reaching into her pocket for her cell phone. "I have to get—"

"Jazz!"

She turned as Sam ran up to them, Dani behind her. Sam's eyes were wide with worry. "Did you see what happened? It looked like the Guys in White—"

Jazz nodded. "I think it was O. and K. They hit him with something that knocked him unconscious, and then they grabbed him and disappeared."

Sam looked even paler than usual. "Unconscious? He… he didn't revert, did he? Please tell me—"

"No, he didn't revert. But if he's unconscious…"

"He could at any time," Dani finished for her. "We've gotta find them, fast."

Sam nodded. "Tucker will be able to track his ecto-signature…"

"Way ahead of you." Jazz's thumb was already on Tucker's speed-dial number on her cell.

It took a few seconds for him to answer. "S'up, Jazz? I'm kinda busy here."

"The Guys in White got Danny. We need a trace of his ecto-signature, _now_."

There was a hiss that sounded like Tucker sucking in air between his teeth. "Oh, _man_. Okay. Where are you?"

"Behind the bandshell. The Guys in White and the ghosts are keeping each other busy over here, so you should be able to get to us without too much trouble."

"On my way."

Jazz hung up and looked at Sam and Danielle. "Okay. He's on his way. We've gotta figure out what to do once we track them."

"We need to call in Hunter," Sam said. "Her sled's faster than their jet packs."

"Already called her." Dani held up a cell phone in her hand.

Sam looked at Jazz. "What do we do about your parents?"

Jazz closed her eyes. "_Great_. I didn't think of that. They're gonna _freak_. We…" She opened her eyes. "We don't tell them anything, not until we get him back. Someone needs to stay behind and keep the ghosts from overrunning the town, anyway. Someone other than just the Guys in White."

A roar from overhead announced Valerie's arrival. She landed a few yards away from them and hopped off her sled. "What happened?"

"The Guys in White got Danny. We're just—"

"I'm here!" Tucker sprinted over to them, hunching over and panting as soon as he came to a stop.

"Where's your PDA?"

Still panting, Tucker reached into his pocket, pulled out his handheld, and started thumbing its buttons.

Valerie looked over his shoulder. "Once he tracks the ecto-signature, I can go after them."

"You can't go alone," Sam said. "This has gotta be a team effort."

"We're all going," Jazz agreed.

"Okay, I've got him." Tucker frowned at his PDA. "Dang, they're moving _fast_."

"Specter Speeder fast, or Fenton Jet fast?"

"Either would work."

Jazz crossed her arms. "The Specter Speeder has cloaking, and the Fenton Jet has the Auto Jack."

Sam grimaced. "Specter Speeder it is. Plus it's already here in the park."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Jazz asked.

"Have you all completely lost your minds?"

"What?" Jazz blinked at Nick, confused a moment. She'd forgotten he was there, and she suspected the rest of them had, too.

He was staring at them, incredulous. "You cannot seriously be considering going after the Guys in White."

Jazz set her jaw in determination. "Wanna bet?"

"Let me say it again, in case you missed it the first time. They are _agents of the federal government _who lawfully arrested an illegal ecto entity." Before anyone could protest, he held up a hand. "I'm not saying it's _right_, but it is _legal_. If you go in with guns blazing to free a legally arrested federal prisoner, your lives are over, do you get that?"

"What part of 'I don't care' do _you_ not get?" Jazz clutched the handle of her Fenton Blaster so tightly she could feel the grip leaving an imprint in her palm. "They have _Danny Phantom_, to whom every single one of us owes our lives. Do you know what they'll do to him? 'Cause I've got a pretty good idea, and it doesn't involve anything as mundane as twenty questions under a bright light. They will haul him to some secret facility and gut him like a lab rat, and if you think for one second we can stand by and let that happen…" She stopped, not even knowing how to finish that sentence.

"Wait, Jazz." Sam put a hand on her shoulder. "He has a point."

Jazz gaped at her. "What? You can't—"

"I don't mean we're not gonna go after him. That's a given. But we can't just charge in there and grab him back. If they start taking a closer look at your family, then this whole thing's for nothing."

"If he reverts before we get to them—"

"I know, we have to work fast. But smart." Sam's crossed her arms at her chest, her eyebrow arched. "We need a _ghost_ to go after him."

"A ghost?" Jazz frowned. "What ghost?"

Instead of answering, Sam put two fingers to her lips and let loose with a shrill whistle. Jazz gave her a confused look, unsure what she was doing, until she heard an unearthly howl, and then Danny's ghost-wolf friend bounded into view.

"_Amikoj devas mian helpon?"_

Sam looked at Tucker. "You know Esperanto the best. Tell him what happened."

Tucker nodded. "Uh… _Danny estas kaptita. Ni bezon-as vian helpon liberigi lin._"

Wulf growled, looking furious. _"Walker… Mi ŝiros lin dise!"_

"No! No, _ne! Ne Walker._ Uh… shoot. How do you say 'government'?"

"'_Registaro,'"_ Nick supplied.

Tucker blinked at Nick, but didn't take the time to question his help. "_Registaro, _yeah_. La Homa Mondo registaro kaptita lin. Ni bezon-as fantomon helpi al libera li. Estas tro danĝera por homoj."_

Wulf looked eager. _"Jes. Mi povas helpi al. Kaj estas aliuloj, ankaŭ."_

"_Aliuloj?"_ Tucker frowned in confusion. "Others? What others?"

"_Jes. Aliuloj. La Thralls estas li amikoj. Ili helpos al. Li liberigis ilin, ilin liberigos lin."_

Sam gasped. "Did he just say what I think he said?"

"He said, 'The Thralls are his friends. He freed them, so they'll free him.' But who are the Thralls?"

"Don't you remember?" Sam was talking fast now. "Summer before senior year, those green snot-ball ghosts that attacked Paulina? Amber Cross was using this stone to control them, so she could be head cheerleader. Danny destroyed the stone, and it freed the Thralls."

"_Jes, jes. Li liberigis la Thralls. Ili vol revenig la la prefer."_

Sam took a step closer to Wulf, snapping her fingers as if searching for words. "Uh… _Ĉu vi…_uh… _scias la Thralls? Vi povas trovas ilin kaj…_ uh… _alparol ili?_"

"We don't have a lot of time to go searching for more ghosts, Sam. If he can't find them fast…" Tucker looked at Wulf. "_Ni dev trovi ilin rapide. Ni ne havas multe tempon."_

"_Jes. Mi scias kie ili estas."_ Wulf held out a mammoth paw and extended claws so sharp Jazz gasped.

"No!" Sam waved her hands at the beast. "Not that way! Through the Fenton Portal! We need to go with you! Tucker…"

"Wait, what is going on?" Valerie asked.

"Wulf knows where to find these Thralls who can help us. If they distract the Guys in White…"

"Then we can free him without them knowing it was us." Valerie smiled behind the dark-tinted faceplate of her helmet. "Okay, I'm with you."

Sam rubbed her hands together. "I'll take Wulf in the Specter Speeder and go into the Ghost Zone to bring back some Thralls to help."

"I'm going with you," Dani said.

"No!" Sam and Valerie responded together.

Dani grunted in irritation. "I know the Ghost Zone better than all of you put together. I'm going with you."

Sam shook her head. "I'm not freeing Danny only to tell him I got you captured."

"Dammit, Sam! He's my…" She glanced at Nick. "He's as important to me as anyone. More. I'm going."

"Let her come," Valerie said. "At least then we can keep an eye on her."

Sam relented. "Fine, you can come with me. Tucker, tell Wulf we need him to go with us in the Specter Speeder." While Tucker did so, Sam turned to Jazz. "You come with us, too, and we'll drop you off at FentonWorks. Get as much gear as you can. We need Fenton Phones, weapons, anything your dad has that will disrupt whatever that thing was that they trapped him in. Meet us out front in fifteen minutes."

Jazz nodded. "I'm on it."

"Hunter, you take Tucker and follow after Danny. "

Tucker blanched. "On her sled?"

Valerie smiled. "Come on, baby, let's go for a ride. I got you a helmet and everything." She held out her hand, and a helmet appeared out of nowhere as she called her sled to her and stepped onto it.

"Oh, yeah. A creepy magic ghost helmet makes me feel _so_ much better."

Sam growled in annoyance. "Tucker, we don't have time for this! You can track him, and she has the sled that can keep up with them. We'll catch up to you in the Speeder as soon as we can. Hunter, your suit's com system works with the Fenton Phones, right?"

She nodded in confirmation, and Tucker pulled a bright green earphone out of his pocket and jammed it into his ear. "I've got one, too." Making a face as he took the helmet from Valerie, he put it on over his beret. "Danny better appreciate this when we get him out of there." He climbed onto the sled behind Valerie and wrapped his arms around her waist in a death grip, while still managing to hold his PDA so they both could see it. Then, with a stomp of Valerie's boot on the throttle, they were off.

Sam motioned to Jazz, Dani and Wulf. "Come on, let's go. _Ni ekiru._"

"Jazz, wait!" Nick put out a hand to stop her. "You can't—"

Jazz shook her head, pulling away from him. "I have to do this, Nick. Just… keep the ghosts from taking over the town while we're gone. And if my parents come looking for us, don't tell them anything. Just say we went chasing more of those Goons. I'll tell them what happened when we get back." And without waiting for an answer, she jogged off behind Sam.

* * *

After loading up a huge duffel bag full of every contraption from the lab that she thought might help them free her brother, Jazz hauled it up out of the basement and then out onto the front porch to wait for Sam and Dani. When she opened the door, she was surprised to see Nick standing there on the sidewalk at the bottom of the front steps. She sighed as she dropped the strap of the bag. "Nick, I—"

"I'm going with you."

"What?"

"I'm going with you."

She blinked. "I thought you said going after the feds was insane."

"It is insane. But you're right. Danny Phantom saved all our lives. We owe him at least that much. Besides, that's a bag full of your dad's inventions you got there. You think I'm letting you go off with that stuff without someone along who can fix it so it doesn't kill you?" He gave her a half smile.

Jazz just raised her eyebrows at him, then sat down on the top step next to the duffel bag. "So you want to do this even though you think I have 'a thing' for him?"

Nick cringed, then came up the steps to sit down beside her. "That was a really stupid thing to say. I don't think… I don't even know why I said it, and I'm really sorry. I just… there's a part of your life you're shutting me out of, and I'm pretty sure it has something to do with Danny Phantom, but now's not the time to talk about it. I love you, I don't want you going off and getting yourself killed without me backing you up, and I want to help save someone who deserves saving. We'll sort through the rest later."

Jazz looked out into the street, silent for a long time. Then, she let out a long breath. "He's my brother."

Nick cocked his head at her. "What?"

She turned to him. "Danny Phantom. He's my brother."

He frowned. "In what sense?"

"What do you mean, 'in what sense?'"

"Brother in arms? Fraternity brother? You love him like a brother? What?"

"_Brother_, Nick. Sibling. Child of my parents."

He blinked. "You have two brothers named Danny, and one of them is a ghost?"

She blew out another breath, this one in exasperation. "Work with me here, okay? I have _one_ brother named Danny, and he's a _half_-ghost."

"A... what? How the heck can someone be only _half_ ghost?"

Looking down a moment, she tried to think of a way to explain. "There was an accident with my parents' Ghost Portal when Danny was fourteen. It did something to his DNA… mutated it somehow, and gave him ghost powers. He can morph back and forth between his regular form and his ghost form—Danny Phantom. He's alive, still human, but with all the powers ghosts have. A half-ghost."

She watched as Nick absorbed this. "Danny is really…? But wait. I've seen them together a couple of times, your brother and Danny Phantom."

She nodded. "He can duplicate himself temporarily, and he can make one self go ghost—that's what he calls it, 'going ghost'—and keep one self human. He uses that sometimes so people don't suspect he's one person."

"And everybody knows this but me?"

"No, Nick." She sighed. "No one knows. Well, Danny's friends know. Sam and Tucker always knew, because they were there when the accident happened. I found out a couple months afterwards when I caught him changing. No one else knew for two years, not even my parents, not until the asteroid crisis. Then a whole lot of people found out, and it was my fault. I… I thought he died when the Fenton Jet crashed, and that we would all be dead when that asteroid hit, so I figured my parents should know the truth. I told them in a room full of people. I always felt bad about that, that I was the one who blew his secret. We got lucky and everyone who was there agreed not to say anything. They all signed a paper and everything, but…" She shook her head. "The anti-ecto laws are harsh. Legally, the Guys in White can do anything they want to him. If they find out he's part human, and know who he is and where he lives…"

"Oh, man." His eyes widened in understanding. "They really will… oh, _man_."

"That's why we have to get him back. And… he was unconscious when they caught him. He can't control what form he's in when he's unconscious. He could revert to human at any moment. He may already…" She swallowed.

Nick put a hand on her arm. "No. I've gotten to know him over the past few months… as your brother, mostly, but a little bit of Danny Phantom, too. He's a tough kid, Jazz. Both of him. I'm sure we'll get him out of there before they figure it out."

"We have to." She gave him a weak smile. "So, that's it. That's the thing I couldn't tell you. Not because I didn't want to or don't trust you, but because it isn't my secret to tell. And because I have to protect him. He protects the town—sometimes the world—and I protect him. That's the way it works. But… I didn't feel right, keeping it from you, either. It's his secret, but it's a pretty huge part of my life, too, and… well… you're kinda getting to be a pretty big part of my life now, too."

This earned her a somewhat dopey grin. "Really?"

"Really."

"Okay, that's… yeah. Any other family secrets I should know about?"

Jazz considered the question a moment. "Danielle's a half-ghost, too. She got… someone messed her up pretty badly, and she gets sick a lot and can't go fully ghost anymore like Danny can. But she can still float a little, go invisible and intangible, and even shoot some ectoplasmic breams from her hands if she's really feeling well, but that drains her a lot so we try not to let her do it. We have to make sure the Guys in White never find out about her, too. She'd be in worse danger than Danny, because of… well, there's a lot more about Danielle, but that's for another day."

He stared at her. "I… I was _kidding_. What else is there?"

"Valerie’s the Ghost Hunter Girl. And that's pretty much it." She gave a nervous chuckle. "And you thought the Fentons were a crazy family before…"

"No. Actually, everything makes a lot more sense now." He smiled at her, and started to say something more, but then the Specter Speeder roared out onto the street from the backyard and the access tunnel that led there from the basement lab. The hatch opened for them, and Jazz grabbed the duffel bag as she and Nick headed down the steps and climbed into the Specter Speeder.

Jazz looked around. "I thought you were bringing more ghosts?" Only Sam, Dani, and Wulf were inside.

Sam jerked her head backwards. "They're packed into the back. I didn't think I'd be able to drive this thing with a few dozen ghosts crammed around me." She glanced at Nick, then gave Jazz a questioning look.

"He knows about Danny, and he's coming with."

Sam looked from Jazz to Nick, regarding him a moment before nodding her assent. "Okay. The more help, the better. Welcome aboard, Nick."


	22. The Ghost of Christmas Present: Part VI

_ **Amity Park  
December 22, 11:00 pm CST** _

It was getting close to eleven o'clock when the phone rang again. Sam had changed into pajamas—purple flannel maternity bottoms, an oversized black tank top, a long, purple plush robe that she didn't even bother trying to close over her large belly, and fuzzy purple slippers—but otherwise she hadn't moved from her corner of the couch and her laptop. Arching an eyebrow, she looked from the muted television, where Congress was still in session, to the intruding phone, shooting it an almost accusatory glare. _Only one person gets away with calling me this late, and he should be a little too busy to be making phone calls right now._ She picked up the receiver, and a quick check of Caller I.D. confirmed her suspicion. Pressing TALK, she put the phone to her ear. "What are you doing, calling me? You're supposed to be on the floor of the House."

On the other end of the line, Tucker snorted. "I do get a bathroom break every now and again."

"Ew! Tucker Foley, you'd better not be calling me from the bathroom!"

"Oh, ease up. I'm in one of the committee rooms. You know I always call from somewhere private and run anti-bugging software. I trust the Guys in White to not listen in about as far as I could throw Mr. Fenton."

"I love that you are so paranoid. But why aren't you on the floor?"

"They'll still have a quorum if I step out for fifteen minutes, and I needed to take a breather from all the tax talk, if that's all right with you."

"I am your constituent. I expect you to be hard at work representing me."

"Which will be kinda hard to do if the constant droning puts me to sleep."

"Any sign of them adjourning anytime this century? Maddie will absolutely have kittens if you don't come home for Christmas."

"Yeah, she and my mom both. No, I can't imagine they'll keep us through Christmas Eve. As much as the anti-ghost contingent wants to try and sneak stuff in under the wire before they lose the majority, they've got families bugging them to come home for Christmas, too. I'm guessing we'll get out sometime tomorrow. Then it'll be a mad scramble for flights."

"Forget that. I'm sending our plane first thing tomorrow morning. I don't wanna take any chances on you missing the vigil or Christmas Eve at the Fentons'."

"Ooh, a ride home on the fancy Manson Learjet." Then he let out a sigh. "Oh, shoot. I'll have to get permission from the Ethics Committee, since that would definitely fall under the category of a gift from a personal friend valued at more than two hundred and fifty dollars. Not to mention the fact that you are with a lobbyist organization."

Sam grunted in annoyance. "I'll send the plane and let you deal with the red tape. Just make sure you get home soon. What's left after the tax code, anyway?"

"Just the flu shot bill and the clean water bill."

"How are those looking?"

He exhaled into the phone. "I dunno. The revisions to the flu shot bill closed up all the loopholes, and the clean water bill looks fine."

She could hear his unspoken skepticism. "But?"

"But… the flu shot one comes from the Department of Homeland Security, and two of the sponsors of the water bill are suspicious, so…"

"So you're suspicious, too."

"Yeah. But nothing I can pinpoint. I'll vote no on the flu bill either way. I'm all for vaccines, but this goes way too far. The water bill, though… it's something I'd vote yes on if I could just be sure it was really just about water."

"Not that I trust them any more than you do, but maybe you're over-thinking this, Tuck. I appreciate that you're worried about me and the baby, and Danielle, too—"

"It isn't just you guys. Don't forget, Valerie's DNA was altered by whatever Technus did to her with that suit. And that's not even getting into all the other ways humans have been 'contaminated' with something ecto-based. You and I have both been infected with ecto-acne. Jazz was hooked into the Ecto-Skeleton while it was running on energy from the Ecto-Converter. You, Jazz, Dash, Paulina, and the entire student body of Casper High got bit by those ghost bugs. The whole damn town of Amity Park was plugged into Undergrowth's Mind Vines. I could probably come up with a million more examples. Where's the line? The Anti-Ecto Control Act is just vague enough that any of those things could be considered a violation, and that gives them absolute power to do whatever they want to any of us."

"Hello! You think you're telling me anything I don't already know? What do you think I've been spending the last decade of my life fighting against? I'm just saying, with all the ways they could be trying to come after us, you might be focusing too much on those two bills."

"I dunno, Sam. My gut's telling me they're trying to sneak something through Congress, and this is their last, best shot."

"Maybe your gut needs a break."

"Oh, you're one to talk. What you need to do is turn off C-SPAN, close your laptop, and put on one of those Christmas specials you love. Not _Rudolph_, 'cause despite the theme of promoting differences, the misogynistic and downright mean characters make you wanna throw things at the TV. Pick _Santa Claus is Coming to Town. _Or_ The Year Without a Santa Claus,_ so you can sing along with the 'Snow Miser' and 'Heat Miser' songs."

Sam sniffed. "You don't know me."

"Yeah, right. You reading _Hamdi_ again, or have you moved onto the Military Commissions Act of 2006?"

"Shut up."

"I thought so. Face it, Sam. I know you better than I know myself. It's always been you and me, right from the beginning. The Thermos schleppers and the ass-cover-ers."

"The ones who clean up the mess and take the blame."

"The _original_ Team Phantom."

She suddenly felt very nostalgic. "Ever miss those days, when it was just the three of us? When Danny Phantom didn't belong to the whole world—he was just _ours_?"

"Yeah. There was a certain… rush, I guess, knowing something no one else did."

"And then there was Jazz. Then Danny's parents. Valerie and her dad. Lancer. Your parents and mine. Danielle. Nick. Dash. Our little secret club really grew over the last ten years, and that's not even counting the rest of the people in Antarctica."

"You have to admit, the extra help was nice. And not having to lie to his parents."

"True," she conceded. "I remember when Jazz first told Nick, I was so relieved to have someone who knew so much about the equipment helping us out, I didn't even care that it was one more person closer to the world knowing. We were a good team when it was just the three of us, but we were a better team with all those extra players."

"We're still a good team, you know. We're just fighting a different kind of war."

She sighed. "But what good's the team when the center's gone? And everyone's expecting me to step in and fill the void Danny left behind, Tuck. Me and a baby that hasn't even been _born _yet. I mean, you should hear the way everyone is so caught up in this pregnancy. Nick said something earlier, about people needing hope, and putting that all on the baby because he's Danny's son. It's a bit overwhelming."

"Since when do you pay attention to what other people think?"

"How do I not? It's everywhere I go. It's in twenty-seven messages on my voice-mail, and that's just since this morning. It's in how everyone from Jack on down to the kid who delivers my newspaper wants me to name the baby after them. It's in the way people on the street stare and either try to manhandle me like my belly is public property, or back away slowly, like if they threw holy water at me, it would hiss and burn. I feel like the entire world is watching what is supposed to be a very personal time in my life, and the only person who isn't is the one person who matters—his father."

"Well, at least he was there for the important part."

"That's not funny, Tucker! It's… it's exhausting. I'm not Danny, and the baby isn't Danny, either."

"You don't have to be Danny. Superpowers aren't what's gonna win this thing, Sam. Not anymore. It's you in the courts, and me in Congress. That's where the real fight is now, and we're gonna win this for him. Sidekick power, baby!"

She almost laughed because she could envision Tucker curling his arms to show off imaginary muscles. But the reality of her situation made it hard to find much amusement. "Yeah, but it's not like we can just wave a Fenton Thermos or the Ghost Peeler at the problem and make it go away. We may have the majority in the House and Senate come January, but not enough to override a veto, and there's two more years left before the White House finally changes hands. The courts will take even longer. We'll probably win in District Court next month, but there will be a stay while they appeal, and even if we win the appeal, there'll be another stay while they appeal to the Supreme Court, and it could be three _years_ before we get heard there. Three years, Tucker!"

"You knew we'd be in it for the long haul."

"But I didn't know I was going to have a baby! Dammit, Tucker, I don't have three years! I only have three _months_! Three months, and all it will take is one judge granting the government access to my medical records, or one public display of ghost powers, and they will have the absolute _legal_ _right_ to take my baby away from me!"

"That is _not_ gonna happen." His voice was low and defiant.

"No, but I can't fight a legal battle if…" She trailed off, deliberately leaving the thought unfinished. By design, she never discussed her contingency plans with Tucker. He knew what they were—he wasn't an idiot. But for the sake of his political career, if she ever had to use those contingency plans, he needed to be able to honestly say she'd never discussed them with him. "And even if they leave us alone, and everything else goes in our favor, it'll be two or three years _minimum_ before we turn things around. So much could happen in three years. It could be too late by then. It could _already_ be too late, but even if it's not, by then the baby will be a _toddler_. He'll have spoken his first word, taken his first step…"

She felt the weight of everything they were trying to do—everything _she_ was trying to do, all without Danny—press down on her again. "How am I supposed to do this alone, Tucker?"

"You are _so_ not gonna do this alone."

"I know." She shook her head. "I shouldn't complain, with all the support I have—"

"Sam. You are not gonna do this alone. Are you hearing me? You are not alone. Ever. Full stop. Three months, three years, it doesn't matter. It won't be too late."

The quiet intensity in his voice worked on her like a valve opening to release the tension trapped inside. Usually, she was the one gripping onto hope through sheer force of will, just to keep everyone around her from sinking into despair. With Tucker, he was the one who kept _her_ from going under. She let out a long, slow breath. "Thanks, Tucker. I… You have no idea how much I needed to hear that."

"Hey, that's what I'm here for. I love you, Sam. You know I've always got your back."

A smirk curled onto her lips. "What are you trying to do, get the tabloids talking about us again and trash your career?"

"Heh. It didn't work before the election, and it won't work now. We already confessed our most sordid secret—that we parented a sack of flour together in ninth grade health class."

"You're forgetting the 'Flour Power Daycare' scandal, and your mother baking all of our classmates' 'children' into chocolate chip cookies."

"Hey, the public doesn't need to know _everything_. Besides, as soon as this baby's born and they see he's got Danny's blue eyes—"

"Or his glowing green eyes, or intangibility powers, or the ability to fly…"

"Well, we'll try and keep that under wraps. But still, I'm thinking any lingering rumors about you and me will be put to rest once and for all."

"I don't know. You know how they love to drag out that picture of us with your arm around me after that rally in the park."

He snorted. "Right. The one that conveniently cropped out Valerie with her arm around you on the _other_ side."

Sam raised her eyebrows. "Speaking of Valerie—"

"We're not speaking of Valerie." He sounded stiff and annoyed now. "I'm not gonna get into this again, Sam. Everything's fine with me and Val."

"_Fine_, maybe, but not what you want. I don't like seeing you put your life on hold, and Danny wouldn't, either."

"How is my life on hold? We're perfectly happy the way things are."

"For how long?"

"For as long as it takes."

She let out a grunt of frustration. "This is crazy, Tuck. You guys are living in limbo, and I hate watching you do it. Haven't you waited long enough?"

He laughed at this. "Talk about the goth calling the kettle black! It took you _two years_ just to admit you liked Danny as more than a friend, then another six months after that to admit you were in love with him. And that's not even getting into how long it took before you two finally did the deed, so don't talk to me about waiting a long time. You are, like, the most old-school goth _ever_."

"Oh, for Pete's sake, Tucker. What are you, fourteen? Being a goth means I think for myself instead of doing what everyone else is doing or thinks I should be doing. Danny and I were sixteen when we got together, and I don't buy into the whole idea that teenagers have to be mindless slaves to their hormones. We were too young, period. So we waited."

"Mrs. Fenton put the fear of God into you, is what happened."

"That, too." She cringed at the mortifying memory of Danny's mother taking her aside to have "the talk" not long after she and Danny had started dating. At least Maddie had spoken to her in private instead of with Danny, leaving him to his father instead. Even so, talking to her boyfriend's mother about sex at age sixteen hadn't exactly been a pleasant experience. "She was smart to do that, though," Sam admitted. "Let's face it—with what little we knew about Danny's biological makeup, we didn't know at the time if birth control would even work. I mean, the guy does have the ability to _phase through solid walls_…"

Tucker snickered. "Yeah, I hear you. Though she must've done a real number on you, to scare you off any other form of birth control, too."

Actually, Sam had started taking birth control pills their freshman year of college, figuring that something that affected her system rather than Danny's had the best shot at working, but they still held off sleeping together until well after that. "That wasn't the only reason we waited, Tucker, and you know it. But can you blame us for being extra cautious? It's not like there'd been a lot of case studies on half-ghosts." That was long before they knew of the extensive research his mother had already been conducting. "There was just no way of knowing until we tried it what would happen with Danny's unique genetic makeup. He could've been infertile, for all we knew, or completely resistant to any form of birth control, or anything in-between. We just didn't know, and I sure as heck didn't want to find out the hard way at sixteen. Or even eighteen."

"I think we can safely rule out infertile."

"Thank you, Dr. Foley. And how is this any of your business, anyway?"

"Best friend privileges, Sam. I get to be all up in your _biz-nass_."

"Just so you know, Tuck, I'm rolling my eyes. And, by the way, that's a two-way street. You and Val—"

"Sam, we can go 'round and 'round on this, but it isn't gonna change anything."

She sighed. "I just want you to be happy. Really, completely happy."

"And I want you to be happy, too. But that's not gonna happen for either of us for a while, is it?"

"No." She closed her eyes. "No, I guess it isn't."

"But hey. We still got each other. The Thermos schleppers and the ass-cover-ers."

She smiled into the phone. "The ones who clean up the mess and take the blame."

"The _original_ Team Phantom. And we're gonna get it done. I promise you that."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _"Just so you know, Tuck, I'm rolling my eyes."_ Just a little nod to _Avatar: The Last Airbender_ and Princess Azula, who is voiced by Grey DeLisle, the same actress who voices Sam. In the episode "The Day of Black Sun Part 2: The Eclipse," Azula tells the blind Toph, "And since you can't see, I should tell you, I'm rolling my eyes."


	23. Drabble: Sidekicks

_ **November  
Three months after the accident  
Age 14** _

When most people thought of Danny, Tucker, and Sam, it was either all three of them as a unit, or Danny and Tucker, or Danny and Sam. Most people didn't realize that Tucker and Sam had their own bond. Even Danny sometimes missed it.

After the whole thing with the ghost bugs and the creepy hospital, Danny asked Sam, "How did you know Tucker didn't like hospitals? I've known him since kindergarten, and I didn't know that."

Sam shrugged. "You weren't the one who sat with him in the ER waiting room the day you had the accident, were you?"


	24. What Goes Around

_ **April  
Three and a half years after the accident  
Age 17** _

"She _what_?"

If Tucker hadn't already felt bad enough, he would have withered under Sam's fury as she stared him down across their booth at the Nasty Burger. Gritting his teeth, he repeated himself. "She's gonna take _Alex_ to Senior Prom." He said the name like it was the kind of disease one could only catch under highly suspicious circumstances.

"But Prom is _a week from Saturday_! I know Valerie likes this guy, but I can't believe she'd ditch you less than two weeks before! It's—"

"It's pretty cold," Danny agreed, putting a comforting hand on Tucker's shoulder. "I'm so sorry, dude."

Tucker shrugged, which was kind of hard to do with his chin resting in his hands. "She didn't really ditch me, per se. It was obvious she wanted to go with him, and I didn't see any point in forcing her to go with me, so…"

"Still." Sam looked ready to pound her fist into something. "It's just _wrong_. I can't believe Valerie would do something like this to you. She's supposed to be your _friend_."

"Well, that's just it, isn't it? She only agreed to go with me as friends, and that was before she met _Alex_."

A mere hour before, actually, and Tucker wanted to choke on the irony.

He'd asked her to be his date to the prom three weeks ago, finally working up the nerve when they were in Indianapolis for a run to support breast cancer research. The Grays ran twice a year, every year—Chicago in the fall and Indianapolis in the spring—in memory of Valerie's mother, who had died of breast cancer when Valerie was nine. This year, the entire Fenton family decided to join them in Indianapolis, and Tucker and Sam came along as well. If nothing else, the trip had been worth it just to see Sam willingly put on a pink shirt. Even Mr. Fenton wore one—over his orange jumpsuit, of course. The only ones in their group not wearing the official race shirt were the Grays themselves. Their shirts were pink as well, but on their backs were matching pictures of Valerie's mother, a beautiful woman with long, dark-brown hair offset by ivory skin and pale blue eyes. Underneath the picture were the words, _In Loving Memory: Meredith Gray_ and the years of her birth and death. Across their chests, Mr. Gray's shirt said _I run for my wife, _and Valerie's said_ I run for my mother_.

It might have been the different location, or the camaraderie of coming together with thousands of others for a common cause—and one that had nothing to do with ghosts, for a change—but after breakfast the morning of the race, when Tucker happened to find himself alone with Valerie for a few minutes, he finally bit the bullet.

"So, uh, Val. You know, Prom's next month, and I was sorta wondering, if you didn't already have a date, maybe you and I could go together?" When she didn't answer immediately, he started talking really fast. "We could go with Danny and Sam. I thought it might be fun, the four of us, going together."

She raised her eyebrows. "No one else you asked said yes, huh."

"Uh…" He wondered if she could hear his heart beating hard enough to pop out of his chest. For most school dances, he started asking any girl he came across months before the event. This time, there was only one girl he really wanted to go with. "I haven't asked anybody else, actually."

This clearly surprised her. "Aren't you a little behind schedule? There's only, what? Five weeks 'til Prom."

He gritted his teeth. "I just thought, you know, since the four of us have been hanging out so much… But if someone already asked you…"

"Well, there's Nathan. He did beat you out by, oh, about three years." She made a face. "But I think I'd rather go with you."

He beamed, until he realized that could be taken two ways. "Hey, wait. Is that a 'yes,' or an 'anyone'd-be-better-than-Nathan-but-I'm-still-not-going-with-you'?"

She laughed. "That's a 'sure, why not?' Sounds like fun, and since neither of us are seeing anyone, we might as well go together."

Tucker had been thrilled, but apparently the neither-of-us-are-seeing-anyone part had been an important qualifier, one that became particularly relevant when, not an hour later, she met Alex.

A freshman at Indiana University Northwest in Gary, Alex was another one of the racers staying at their hotel. He was tall, athletic, blond, and charming, and Tucker hated him on sight. Like Valerie, Alex had lost his mother to breast cancer, and the two of them bonded over shared memories of surgeries and chemotherapy and slowly watching their mothers slip away. He ended up running with their group, and since both he and Valerie were more athletic than Tucker could ever hope to be, they quickly outpaced him, and he didn't see her again until after the race was over.

Before leaving Indianapolis, Valerie and Alex had exchanged e-mail addresses and IM nicknames, and the weekend after that, he'd driven to Amity Park to see her. For the past three weeks since the race, he'd become almost as regular a fixture in Amity Park as the ghosts—and about as welcome, as far as Tucker was concerned. Actually, the ghosts were _more_ welcome, because every time one showed up, Valerie had to drag herself away from her new boyfriend to help round them up. Tucker wasn't exactly sure why things were so busy the last couple of weeks, but he'd never been so grateful to see Technus or Ember or even the Box Ghost in all his life. He could see it in Alex's eyes—the impatience with her always running off with her friends, always putting them first, or so it must seem from his point of view. And Tucker would get her all to himself on Prom night. He'd already gotten Danny to promise that he and Sam would make themselves scarce, and he had high hopes that that would spell the end of _Alex_.

Until Valerie dropped the bomb on him. She didn't dump him, not exactly, but she did hint around at wanting to go with Alex to the point where Tucker felt he had no choice but to let her out of her promise to him. Dejected and defeated, he'd retreated to the Nasty Burger with Danny and Sam to vent his frustration and drown his sorrows in a Mighty Meaty Cheesy Melt Super Value Meal.

Danny shook his head. "Sam's right. How are you supposed to get another date with only two weeks to go?"

"I don't want another date. I am officially boycotting Prom and all things prom-like. You guys just go without me."

"Oh, come on, Tuck! We've gotta all go together! This is, like, the last big hurrah of high school."

"Yeah. And I'm not gonna be yours and Sam's third wheel, thank you very much."

"You're no third wheel. We're a _team_. There must be—" He stopped, snapping his fingers. "Jazz!"

"What?" Tucker looked up at him.

"Jazz would go with you!"

"You're gonna hook me up with your _sister_?"

"What? No, I'm not gonna _hook you up_ with my sister. But why not go as friends?"

"I dunno, dude. I'm not really into the whole Prom thing anymore." Like he wanted to see Valerie there with _Alex_.

"Come on, Tucker, you have to! We won't have any fun without you! Besides, you already bought tickets."

Sam slapped her hands down on the table and stood up. "That's it. I'm gonna go talk to Valerie. I know she likes this guy, but that's no excuse for bagging on a friend."

Tucker's eyes widened in fear. "Sam, no—"

"Don't worry, I won't tell her you _like_ like her. But I am gonna give her a piece of my mind. Especially since this is the second time she's done this to you."

Tucker and Danny both froze, exchanging nervous glances. "Sam, wait…" Tucker started, but it was too late. She'd already stomped off, looking furious.

He looked at Danny. "This _so_ can't end well."

* * *

When Sam arrived at Valerie's, she was in her room… IMing with Alex. With a growl of contempt, Sam crossed her arms and leaned against Valerie's bedroom door. "Turn off the computer. We need to talk."

Valerie turned away from the screen to face her. "Hey, Sam. What's wrong?"

"What's wrong? You just blew off Tucker two weeks before Prom, that's what's wrong!"

She looked genuinely surprised by this. "I didn't blow him off. He told me he understood that I was sorta seeing someone now, and that I could ask Alex instead."

"Of course he did! He's not an idiot! He can pick up on subtle hints, like 'Oh, if only I could go with my _new boyfriend_…'!"

"So what's the big deal? Tucker and I were just going as friends, because neither of us were seeing anyone. And now I am. It's not like I dumped him or anything."

Sam tried, somewhat unsuccessfully, to bite back her irritation. "The big deal is that there's less than two weeks until Prom! He already bought the tickets, rented the tux, and every other girl at school already has a date. What's he supposed to do now?"

"He could take Danielle. She's dying to go."

Sam barked out a bitter laugh. "Oh, right. Can you imagine the cow Danny would have over Tucker going out with _Danielle_? Even as just friends? _So_ not gonna happen."

"Jazz, then."

"You are missing the point, Valerie!" She clenched her fists in frustration. "Tucker's your friend, and you _ditched him_. And it's not even the first time!"

Now Valerie looked puzzled. "What are you talking about?"

"You were supposed to go to that dance with him freshman year, but you blew him off _the day of the dance_. Now, I expected that from you back then, because you were a self-absorbed bitch. But now? You're supposed to be his friend!"

Valerie cocked her head and crossed her arms, her eyes flashing in anger. "I may have been a self-absorbed bitch, but _Tucker_ ditched _me_ for that dance. To take _you_, if I recall correctly. And you didn't hear me making a federal case out of it"

Sam blinked. "Are you nuts? Why would he dump an actual date—rebound though it may have been—to take me as just friends?"

"Maybe he liked you."

Sam laughed again. "Yeah, I don't think so. He told me you canceled on him, and asked me as a friend."

"Well, he lied. He canceled on me to take you, so draw your own conclusions."

Sam shook her head, confused. "Wait a minute. So, then, is this some kind of payback?"

"Please. I don't care about that. Sure, I was mad at first, but like you said, I was a self-absorbed bitch back then." She gave Sam a tight smile. "Going with Tucker wasn't exactly gonna raise my social standing, now, was it? I hadn't told anyone on the so-called 'A-List' I was going with him, so no one knew he'd dumped me, and it was a toss-up whether getting dumped by Kwan and having no date or getting dumped by Kwan and going with someone that far down on the social ladder instead would be worse, so I got over it pretty quick. This has nothing to do with any of that. I met a boy I really like, and I want to go to my Senior Prom with him, not someone who's just a friend, and that's all there is to it. Tucker can go with Dani or Jazz as friends, and everyone wins. So what's the big deal?"

_Only that he really, really likes you and is crushed, that's all_. But she couldn't say that, so instead she crossed her arms and grumbled. "I just think it's wrong to back out on a promise, that's all." Which is exactly why she was going to get to the bottom of who backed out on whom before that dance back when they were freshmen.

* * *

"Don't look at me; it was Danny's idea."

"Thaaaaanks, Tuck."

Tucker shifted nervously under Sam's lethal gaze. "Sorry, dude, you're on your own. I'm not taking the fall for this."

"Oh, you're not getting off that easy, Tucker Foley." Sam was leaning against Danny's bedroom wall, her arms crossed, and looking like she was out for blood. "_You_ were the one who'd made the promise to Valerie, so you shouldn't have listened to him. It's not like he can _make_—" She stopped short, her mouth hanging open as if she were frozen.

Tucker and Danny winced, waiting for the inevitable.

"Oh, no. You _didn't_." At least now she was directing her fury solely at Danny. "Tell me you did not _overshadow_ Tucker to make him _dump Valerie_ to take me."

Danny's face was bright red and he looked like he wanted to sink into the floor. If he were smart, he'd do exactly that, Tucker thought. Instead, he started stammering, then finally got out, "Why are we talking about something that happened over three years ago?"

"Because there's no statute of limitations on being a complete asshat!" Sam was clenching her fists so hard, she had to be leaving nail marks in her palms. "I don't believe this! Why on _earth_ would you do such a thing?"

"Because I felt bad that you didn't have a date, and that we hadn't figured out sooner that you wanted to go, and since I was already going with Paulina—"

"You figured the solution was to _overshadow_ Tucker, _ditch_ Valerie, and ask me on a _pity date_?"

"It wasn't a pity date!"

"What else would you call it? You said it yourself; you felt sorry for me. Not sorry enough to break your own damn date. Just sorry enough to make Tucker break his!"

"Hey, I did Tucker a favor! You looked _hot_ in that dress you wore that night, and Tucker was thrilled—"

"HELLO! MISSING THE POINT, MUCH?" Sam looked madder at Danny than Tucker could ever remember. Even angrier than the time they'd had the fight where she'd wished she'd never met him. Her fists still clenched, she growled again, almost loud enough to qualify as a scream. "Do you even bother to think these things through? Valerie thinks Tucker _stood her up_ for that dance three years ago, and you don't think just _maybe_ that _might_ have played into her deciding it was okay to stand _him_ up for Prom? What goes around, comes around, Danny, only this time, it's _Tucker_ who's getting the fallout from you using your powers to be a colossal jerk!"

"The Prom thing has nothing to do with that. This is because she wants to go with Alex—"

Sam flew at them, and Tucker and Danny both cowered back against the opposite wall. Ignoring Tucker completely, she reached out and grabbed Danny by his ear, pulling him up off the floor.

"OW! What are you—? Let go!"

"You are _so_ going over to Valerie's _right this second_ and explaining what happened, and you'd better fall all over yourself apologizing to her. Then, if you're lucky, I _might_ forgive you in time to go to the prom with you."

Tucker backed away, cringing. "Uh… just so we're clear—I'm the innocent bystander in all of this, right?"


	25. Senior Prom

_ **May  
Three and a half years after the accident  
Age 17** _

Valerie sat in the passenger seat of her father's car, looking out the window, toying with the clasp on her tiny handbag as her father drove them to FentonWorks for all the pre-Prom pomp and circumstance. They'd decided to make that the staging area before heading out to dinner at Le Prix Gonflé in the stretch limo Sam's parents rented for them, and then after that, to the dance itself.

Her father glanced at her. "You're awfully quiet, baby girl. Everything all right?"

Valerie looked up at him. "Oh, I guess I'm just a little nervous."

In truth, she was more than a little nervous. Not since her father's bankruptcy and her subsequent banishment from the "A-List" had she been this anxious about a school event.

"About this Alex boy?"

"That's part of it, yeah."

"You really like this kid?"

Oh, Lord. He was going to turn the car ride into one of _those_ talks. Valerie clutched her purse tighter. The last time they'd talked about her liking a boy, it had been Danny. _I like him a lot, _she'd said then._ Maybe even enough to give up ghost hunting._ But in the end, she hadn't given up ghost hunting. She'd given up Danny instead.

Now she knew there was no one she'd give up ghost hunting for. It was in her blood—literally, thanks to the way Technus had somehow melded the strange, ecto-powered suit into her own psyche, creating high-tech battle armor with which she could outfit herself at will, like something out of one of those weird Japanese animes her dad liked to watch.

But she couldn't help but wonder. If the ghost hunting had gotten in the way with the one boy on earth whose family background made it likely he would have understood—and that wasn't even getting into his secret identity, since she hadn't known it at the time—then how likely was it that the ghost hunting would _always_ get in the way, preventing her from being with anyone, ever?

Already it was causing problems with Alex. As part of the universe's grand conspiracy to keep her from getting close to a boy, the ghosts had gotten really active over the last few weeks, usually when Alex had driven in from Gary to see her. Not only was it too soon to tell him about the ghost hunting and the otherworldly suit, but "the Ghost Hunter Girl," as her alter-ego was known around Amity Park, was linked romantically to Danny Phantom. It was a rumor neither she nor Danny had bothered trying to quash—she found it amusing for the many levels of irony, while he found it useful to keep people from speculating about him and Sam, which threatened his secret identity, or him and Jazz, which grossed him out to no end. But it made it difficult for her to admit to Alex that she was half of the infamous pair without also revealing that Danny Fenton was the other half, and therefore not a romantic rival. Sharing Danny's secret was unthinkable, not until she knew and trusted Alex a heck of a lot more than she did right now. So she kept quiet, and when a ghost inevitably attacked while she was trying to spend time with him, she'd come up with lame excuse after lame excuse for rushing off with Danny, Tucker, and Sam. It was hardly surprising that it was wearing on his patience.

"Valerie?"

She realized she still hadn't answered her father's question. How much did she really like Alex? He'd seemed like a gift from the heavens when she'd met him at the breast cancer run a month ago. When she'd officially become one of "Danny Fenton's loser friends," the only boys at school who would even come near her were Danny, Tucker, and Nathan. Nathan had been all but stalking her for three years, Tucker wasn't interested in anything beyond the kind of flirting he did with every other female on the planet, and Danny… not only had that ship long since sailed, it was she who had smashed the champagne bottle across its bow to send it on its way. So it was nice to meet a boy with whom she had a lot in common and who didn't know or care about the pecking order at Casper High School. Whether that qualified for "really liking" him, she wasn't sure. Not yet.

"I… think it's too soon to tell." She couldn't help but notice her dad's smile. "What? Don't you like him?"

"Well, I think the Dad Rule Book says I have to be wary of any boy who comes within fifty feet of my baby girl, but that aside, he seems nice enough. Too soon to tell, like you said."

Valerie arched her eyebrow. "I sense a 'but' there."

He shrugged. "I guess I'm a little surprised, that's all. I thought you were gonna go to the prom with Tucker."

She bristled. "We're just friends, and now that I'm kinda seeing someone…"

"Okay, I get it. Didn't mean to touch a nerve."

"You didn't. I'm just saying."

He had touched a nerve, though. All that weirdness the past week over Tucker and Danny and that one stupid dance a million years ago when they were freshmen was the other reason she was feeling so skittish about Prom. Why Sam thought that freshman dance was so important, Valerie didn't know—she hadn't really thought about it since then. But it was kind of ironic, now that Sam got her thinking about it, that she would end up ditching Tucker before Prom the way he'd ditched her before that dance. _No. I didn't ditch him_, she corrected herself. _He offered_.

Except, if she were being completely honest with herself, she had hinted pretty hard that she really wanted to go with Alex, which hadn't exactly left Tucker a lot of choice but to back out gracefully. She liked Tucker quite a bit, and would've had a blast with him, but she really wanted for once in her life to go to the ball with someone who actually _like_ liked her. Tucker seemed okay with it, and he was taking Jazz instead, so it wasn't like she'd left him dateless. But Sam had been livid, and then she'd dragged Danny over to explain about how _he'd_ been the one who had canceled on her before that freshman dance. It was ancient history, really, and yet… now Valerie was wondering. Had that been a subconscious factor in her pestering Tucker to release her from her promise to go with him? Had she been looking for some sort of payback, like Sam had suggested? She'd like to think no, she wasn't that petty. Not anymore. But now, she wasn't sure. It was nagging at her, making her feel guilty about bailing on Tucker, especially now that she knew the whole freshman dance thing hadn't been his fault in the first place.

Once they arrived at FentonWorks, however, she started feeling better almost immediately. Everyone but Alex was already there, and Jazz was so stunning in her strapless turquoise dress, with her hair done up in an elaborate French twist, that Tucker seemed more than satisfied to have her as his date. Sam, who had finally forgiven Danny for the whole stupid freshman dance incident after torturing him for the better part of a week, looked amazing in a halter-style dress with a plunging back. It was deep purple overlaid with black lace, and she was wearing matching purple-and-black-lace fingerless gloves that went up past her elbows. The boys were both dashing in their tuxes, although Tucker was still wearing that ridiculous beret of his. It made her laugh, and yet, she had to admit he actually looked kinda hot, beret notwithstanding. And it did beat the heck out that stupid top hat he sometimes wore as mayor.

Mrs. Fenton came out of the kitchen, squealing in delight. "Oh, look at all of you! Don't you look adorable!"

Danny groaned. "Mom…"

"Jack, get the camera."

Mr. Fenton, who had been standing behind his wife, turned around to go back towards the basement, while Mrs. Fenton took a look at each of the girls in turn. She got to Valerie last. "You look lovely, Valerie. Red is definitely your color."

Valerie smiled, and thanked her. She was pleased with how she looked in her red dress with the sweetheart bodice and her hair piled up on top of her head, with a few loose curls hanging free and framing her face.

"Now I want you kids to have a good time, and don't you worry about anything. Mr. Fenton, Mr. Gray, and I will keep on eye on things and take care of any pernicious poltergeists that dare to show their foul faces in our town."

"Okay, Mom, we get the picture." Danny shook his head. "You can give the alliteration a rest."

Valerie poked him in the ribs. "Hey, she can put it any way she wants, so long as we get the night off, one hundred percent ghost-free. You can belch blue mist like you've eaten an entire box of rancid Boo Berry cereal, but I'm not moving from that hotel ballroom. This is my night, got it? I'm finally gonna get to spend some quality time with Alex."

Tucker mumbled something under his breath and Danny nudged him with his elbow.

Valerie frowned. "What?"

"Nothing." Tucker stepped closer to Jazz and turned away, until Mr. Fenton returned with the camera.

"Okay, kids huddle up, and let's get some group shots. Then, each couple."

"Where's your date, Valerie?" Mrs. Fenton asked her.

"He should be here soon. He had to work in Gary this afternoon."

"Well, let's hold off on the group shots, then, and do the couples. Tucker and Jazz first."

While Mrs. Fenton worked on posing them, Valerie turned to Danny. "So where's Danielle?"

He shrugged. "She's up in her room sulking because she's not a senior and can't go."

"So why didn't Tucker take her instead of Jazz?"

Danny crossed his arms. "Yeah. I don't think so."

"You're too protective."

"Tucker's my best friend. Think for a minute how weird that would be." He shuddered.

She considered it a moment, then relented. "Yeah, okay. It'd be weird. Still, I feel kinda bad for her. She doesn't have many friends her age, so of course she'd feel left out if all of us are going—even Jazz—and she can't. Maybe I should go up and talk to her before Alex gets here."

"Okay, Danny and Sam, you're up next!" Mr. Fenton cried out, and Valerie slipped past them and headed upstairs while Danny and Sam were dragged into position to pose for photos.

She found Dani in her room, lying on her stomach on the bed, reading some science fiction novel. The door was open, but Valerie knocked on it anyway. "Hey, Dani. Don't you wanna come downstairs and make fun of the boys in their tuxes?"

She looked up from her book. "I'm kinda tired. And don't you have some pretty-boy picking you up in a few minutes?"

Valerie made a face and came in, sitting down on the bed. "It's just a dance, Dani. It's not _that_ big a deal. I don't know why you're sulking. You'll get to go when you're a senior."

"Yeah, right." Dani closed the book and sat up. "Like I'll ever get a date."

"Why wouldn't you? You're pretty, and smart, and funny—"

"With a psychotic 'cousin' who growls at any boy who gets within fifty feet of me."

Valerie snorted. "Yeah, well. If it's any consolation, he's almost as protective of Jazz, and she's just his sister. His _older_ sister."

"At least she's in college, so he can't hover over her all the time."

"And next year, _he'll_ be in college, and won't be able to hover over you, either."

Dani frowned. "Yeah, I know. You'll all be off in college, and I'll be the only one left."

Valerie raised her eyebrows. "Is that what's bothering you?"

"No. Yes. I don't know!" Dani huffed out a breath of air. "It's just so hard, Valerie. Most people don't know what they were put on this earth to do, but I do. I was _made_ specifically to be a half-ghost. To be the mirror image of Danny and everything that he is as a ghost and as a human. I lived the first two-thirds of my whole three-year existence either as the test subject for whatever Vlad wanted to do to Danny, or as a ghost on my own in the Ghost Zone. But now I'm not any of those things. I'm just this half-human kid who gets sick all the time, who can't go ghost, but has ghost powers anyway, and is trying to fit into school with fifteen-year-olds who have actually _lived_ fifteen years, not _three_."

Valerie digested this, trying hard to clamp down on the surge of rage and loathing she felt towards Vlad Masters. "You listen to me, Danielle Fenton. I don't care what Vlad's intentions for you were or why he… did what he did." She couldn't bring herself to say that he _made_ her. "None of that is why you're here on this Earth. You have your own purpose, one you have to find for _yourself_, not one dictated to you by a psychopath who only ever saw anyone in terms of what they could do for him. You don't have to live your life in Danny's shadow. You're not his—" She stopped short.

Dani arched one eyebrow at her. "His clone?"

She tried again. "You're your own person. Maybe… maybe Danny going away to college will be a good thing for you, so you can discover who you are separate from him. And from me, and all of us."

"But you guys are all I have."

"And you'll still have us. That's never gonna change, Dani. Not when we go to college, not ever. And it's only Hammond, fifteen minutes up the road. It's not like we won't be around."

She sighed. "I lived on my own for a year and a half. That's, like, half my entire existence. So why does the thought of being left alone now scare me so much?"

Valerie leaned over and pulled her into a hug. "You're never alone, Dani. I will always be here for you, I promise. And Danny, and the Fentons, and Tucker, and Sam. You're important to all of us. No matter where we are, no matter what's going on, if you need me, I'll be there. Count on it."

She felt Dani nod into her shoulder. "So can I go to the prom with you guys?"

Valerie snorted again. "Nice try."

* * *

The evening was turning out to be everything Valerie had hoped. Once Alex had arrived at FentonWorks—with a gorgeous white rose corsage that looked lovely when he pinned it to her red dress—her dad and the Fentons took the requisite five bazillion pictures, and then they were off to Le Prix Gonflé in the limo Sam's parents had rented. Sam tried to pay for dinner, as she usually did whenever they did something expensive, but Danny and Tucker had saved up for weeks to treat their dates to a fancy dinner before Prom, and absolutely refused to let Sam or Jazz pay. Because Valerie had invited Alex, and at the last minute no less, she'd insisted on paying their portion of the bill.

Prom itself was in the ballroom of the Garnier Hotel right on the shore of Lake Michigan. There was a great band that covered everything from Dumpty Humpty to Morbid Anti-Social Youth, an elaborate dessert spread, and a gorgeous-looking punch that they stayed away from because Valerie was pretty sure one of the jocks had spiked it. She, Alex, Danny, Sam, Tucker, and Jazz talked and laughed and danced, and Alex even seemed to be getting along well with everyone else, which was a huge relief. When it came time to announce Prom King and Queen, however, Valerie was ready to spend some time alone with him. It wasn't like it was any great mystery who would win, and she really didn't care to see Paulina and Dash get the crowns they'd always acted as if they'd deserved the entire four years they'd been at Casper High. Taking Alex's hand, Valerie led him out of the ballroom and out onto a lovely terrace overlooking the pool and the lake beyond. They walked along the balustrade, holding hands, then finally came to a stop at a quiet place in the corner. They could hear the water lapping against the shore, and there were white lights strung along the trees below, casting a perfect glow over the terrace and the grounds.

"I'm really glad you came," she told him. "I know to a college guy, Prom is probably pretty lame."

"Nah. It's nice. I didn't go to my prom last year."

"Why not?"

He shrugged. "There wasn't anyone at my school worth going to the trouble for. Not like this one."

She smirked at him. "You use that line often?"

"Nope. Just on girls who can beat me out in the breast cancer run by two seconds."

"That's two _point three_ seconds."

"I stand corrected." He leaned over and kissed her—not a particularly long or passionate kiss, but a nice this-has-potential kind of kiss.

She pulled back after a moment, a little too unsure of herself to let it go on too long. Looking up at him, she took his hands in hers. "I could—"

"Valerie, there you are." It was Danny, who must have come up behind her.

Alex grunted, and Valerie gritted her teeth, not bothering to turn around. "We kinda want to be alone, Danny."

"I know, and I'm _so_ sorry to interrupt…"

He had _that_ tone, and she turned to glare at him without letting go of Alex's hand. "No. Not tonight."

His eyes were dark, his grave expression matching his tone. "Val, my mom just called—"

"No, Danny! We had a deal! I'm sure your parents can handle everything—"

"No, it wasn't that kind of call. It's Dani, Val."

She dropped Alex's hand. "What's wrong?"

"She… had a relapse. She was coming down the stairs to get something to eat, and her legs just… gave way." By the way he paused, Valerie could tell he meant they'd gone intangible on her. "She fell the rest of the way, about half a flight, my mom said."

Valerie gasped. "Oh, no! Is she okay?"

"She's unconscious, but stable now. Mom said she debated calling us. Didn't want to ruin our night." He gave a sort of humorless half-laugh. "But then she figured we'd wanna be there when she woke up."

Valerie nodded. "Yeah, of course. Just… give me a minute, okay?"

Danny glanced at Alex behind her. "Yeah, sure. Sorry, Alex, I didn't mean…" He trailed off before looking back at Valerie. "Sam already called the limo to pick us up out front. Meet us in the lobby."

She nodded again, then turned to Alex as Danny left. "I am so sorry. I really… ugh. I was really hoping tonight we could just spend time together."

"Who's he talking about?"

"Dani—Danielle. His cousin. You know, the fifteen-year-old with the black hair? Danny's parents are her guardians."

"Cancer?" There was a sort of pained look in his eyes. He'd lost his mother only three years earlier, unlike Valerie, who now had lived almost as long without her mother as she had with her.

"No. It's… rare. She was… poisoned, about a year ago."

He frowned. "Poisoned?"

"It's complicated."

"Okay. You want me to go to the hospital with you?"

"She wouldn't be at the hospital. The Fentons take care of her at home when she gets sick."

His frown turned to confusion. "If it's serious, shouldn't she be at the hospital?"

"It's nothing they can't treat at home. She'll be fine, she just needs to rest."

"Okay. So then why the rush to go see her? I mean, if she's not serious, and she's not even awake…"

"I need to be there when she wakes up."

"Why?"

"Because she's my friend!" Valerie was starting to get exasperated now. "I would think having lost your mother, you'd understand needing to be there when someone you love is sick."

"Actually, what I learned from my mother is how to tell the difference between when you really need to be there and when you need to keep living life. My mom… she didn't want me spending every waking minute focused on her cancer. You… you always have something going on, Valerie. You never take time to just relax and have fun."

"How am I supposed to have fun when my friend just collapsed?"

"Because you know she's okay, and you can see her later, when she wakes up."

"I need to be there _when_ she wakes up!"

"But why?"

"I told you! She's my friend, and I promised her!"

Alex crossed his arms. "She's Danny's cousin."

Mimicking his pose, Valerie set her jaw as well. "So?"

"Do you not see how your whole life is wrapped around this guy?"

She gaped at him, furious. "What?"

"Come on, Valerie! Every time I'm here, the guy snaps his fingers and you come running. What's the story?"

"There's no story, Alex! This is about _Danielle_, who is extremely important to me. It has nothing to do with Danny!"

It was a lie. Her whole life _was_ wrapped around Danny—inextricably intertwined with his forever, although not for the reasons Alex hinted at. She hadn't known it at the time, but she'd signed her name in blood to this life at age fourteen, when she'd accepted the gift of ghost-hunting equipment from a complete stranger. And now, the truth she couldn't tell, about the ghost hunting, the suit, Danny Phantom, and Danielle, was a barrier between her and really getting to know and trust anyone, and only when she really knew and trusted someone would she ever be able to tell the truth. She was completely trapped by one single, irrevocable decision she'd made without ever considering the consequences.

And yet… she wouldn't go back and undo it, even if she could. She'd been handed a strange life, one that she hadn't asked for and that might require her to spend it alone, but it was still a life she embraced. All of it.

Alex shook his head, clearly frustrated. "Valerie, I don't expect you to give up your friends for me."

"Well, that's good, because I've known them for three years. I've only known you for a few weeks."

"Don't you think I get that? But I don't think it's a lot to ask to be _somewhere_ on the priority list other than the very bottom. I rearranged my entire schedule to be here tonight, and you're telling me you can't give me a few more hours? That you have to drop everything to see _Danny's cousin_, who won't even know you're there?"

Valerie sighed. "She's not just Danny's cousin. She's important to _me_. For my own reasons. If you want me to make you a higher priority than her, then this is never gonna work. She will always come first with me."

"Fine." He started to walk away, but she called out to him.

"Alex, come on. Your car's at the Fentons' anyway. Just… come with us. I can't make you _more_ important than my friends, but I can share them with you."

"I don't think there's enough room, Valerie. And I'll take a cab to get my car."

* * *

She wasn't sure when Alex came and got his car, but when she went outside to sit on the front porch steps, it was gone. He was gone.

And the sad thing was, it didn't feel like it was that big of a loss.

Dani was still out, and Mrs. Fenton didn't want them all hovering, so she'd sent them all downstairs. Valerie's father was up in the Op-Center with Mr. Fenton, keeping him out of Mrs. Fenton's hair. The rest of them stationed themselves in the kitchen, where Jazz busied herself making tea. Danny was a wreck, like he always was when Danielle was sick or hurt, but Sam, Tucker, and Jazz were all better suited for the job of comforting him than Valerie was, so she'd gone out on the porch to find her own solace and wait to be allowed to see Danielle.

"Hey, Val. Mind if I join you?"

She turned around to see Tucker standing in the doorway. She gave him a weak smile and shrugged, patting the spot next to her. "Sure. Have a seat."

He came and sat down beside her. "She's gonna be fine. You know that, right?"

"I know. It's just hard seeing her go through this. _Vlad_—" There was no real way to finish that sentence, and it was pointless anyway, so she settled for clenching her fists in frustration.

Tucker nodded, his face as hard as hers felt. "Tell me about it."

"How's Danny holding up?"

"Eh. There's no ghost to beat up, so he's flailing. Sam does a pretty good job of keeping him grounded, though."

"I so can relate to the flailing part."

Tucker put a tentative hand on her shoulder. "She's a fighter, Val. It's in her genes."

She smiled at that, and he smiled in return, squeezing her shoulder. Then, he removed his hand as a sort of reticent look crossed his features—something she didn't normally see in Tucker. "I… I'm sorry your night got screwed up."

She shrugged again. "Eh, let's face it. My life doesn't lend itself to starting new relationships. The suit, the ghost hunting, Danielle—it's not stuff I can explain to someone I don't know very well, and I can't get to know people very well unless I can explain my life."

"I dunno. I don't think it's you, Val. Any guy who doesn't get that being with a sick friend is more important to you than a stupid dance isn't worth the effort."

"It's not just that, Tuck, and you know it. It's the constant pull by everything we do. And to someone on the outside, it's all about _Danny_. Which makes it look like _I'm_ all about Danny, and there's no way to make it not seem like some huge _thing_ I've got for him, no matter how much in the past that really is." She gave Tucker a sheepish look. "Truth is, I probably deserved it all blowing up in my face. I shouldn't have bailed on you. I'm really sorry."

"Pfft." He waved his hand. "It's no big. Jazz is a pretty fun date, actually. Except I can't flirt with her, 'cause Danny would kill me where I stand."

She chuckled at that, then shook her head, becoming serious once more. "Even so, Sam was right. I was taking our friendship for granted, and that wasn't fair to you. It's just… it's _Prom_. I really wanted to go with someone who was more than just a friend. Someone I really _like_ liked, you know?"

He studied his hands for a long time. "Yeah, I know. I was hoping for the same thing."

Her brow creased as she tilted her head to look at him. "But you didn't even try asking anyone else but me."

Still looking down at his hands, he nodded. "You're right. I didn't."

She frowned, confused, until she realized what he meant. "Oh." Then, it really sunk in, and her eyes widened. "Oh!" And suddenly, she wasn't sure how she felt about that—about him. He just kept looking at his hands, while she tried to sort out this new way of seeing him. "Tucker, why didn't you say anything?"

This got a snort out of him and he finally looked at her. "No one's ever accused me of being subtle, Val."

"Not subtle, but… indiscriminate. All that flirting you do, I never thought you were _serious_. At least not since those early early days, when my dad first lost his job."

"Hey, you remembered! Everyone always remembers that you and Danny had an almost-thing, but no one ever seems to remember that we had one first."

"Yeah, well, it's not something I'm proud to look back on, since I was just using you to find out more about ghosts. As Sam so eloquently pointed out, I was a self-absorbed bitch back then." She winced. "Maybe I still am. Now I really feel bad for bailing on you. I just… I really didn't think it was anything more than just friends. I—"

The door opened behind them and Jazz poked her head out. "Danielle's awake."

Valerie jumped up, gathering up her skirts as she turned on the step. "Can we see her?"

"She's still kinda groggy, and Mom had to give her more ecto-purifier, so she's weak, too. Only a couple people at a time. Danny's already in there with her, of course."

Tucker stood up beside Valerie. "You go now. The rest of us can wait." Putting his hand on the small of her back, he gently ushered her toward the house ahead of him.

Something about that small gesture, the way he knew without being told that she needed to see Danielle first, made her pause in the doorway, letting Jazz get ahead of her. Her hand on the knob, she turned back. "Tucker? You wanna go out some time?"

He frowned. "I don't need a pity date, Val. I wasn't trying to make you feel bad. I just figured… I dunno."

"Not a pity date, Tucker. I… I think I'd really like it if we could go out some time."

His eyes widened in surprise. "Really? Like, an actual, not-just-friends date?"

"Yeah, really. I… I can't promise a Danny and Sam we-were-always-meant-to-be or anything, but… I think I'd like to… I don't know. To see what might be possible."

His face lit up, and it actually made her feel a little flush. "Yeah, I'd like that. I'd like that a lot, Valerie."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Le Prix Gonflé" is French for "The Inflated Price." The Garnier Hotel is named after Le Palais Garnier, also known as the Paris Opera House, which is, of course, the setting for _Phantom of the Opera_.


	26. The Rescue

_ **November  
Five years after the accident  
Age 19** _

"Tucker, talk to me!" Sam gripped the steering yoke of the Specter Speeder as she spoke into the speaker of the Fenton Phone that Jazz had handed her. It had been about twenty minutes since Tucker and Valerie had gone after the Guys in White after they'd grabbed Danny, and Sam was nearly frantic to catch up to them.

It was Valerie's voice that answered. "Tucker can't come to the phone right now. He's busy screaming his fool head off about riding on my sled."

In the background, Sam could hear Tucker wailing in terror. "Do we have to go so _high_?"

Sam snorted. "Okaaaaay. You got counter-surveillance going, right?"

"Hang on. Tucker! Quit screaming! I need you to double-check the counter-surveillance!" There was a brief pause, and then she was back. "Yeah, we're free and clear."

"Where are you guys?"

"West, somewhere over Illinois. We stopped at an airfield not far from Hammond, just over the Illinois border, I think. That's where they switched from jetpacks to a jet plane. Thought about trying to stop them there, but there were too many of them for me and Tucker to take on alone."

Sam bit her lip. "No, you did the right thing, waiting for the rest of us. Did you catch sight of Danny?"

"No. They did load up some sort of box-thing onto the plane. Looked like an ecto-trap of some sort."

Sam glanced over her shoulder at Jazz, who was squeezed into the back row between Wulf and Nick. "You catching this, Jazz?" When Jazz nodded, her hand on the Fenton Phone in her own ear, Sam asked her, "Is that what they used to capture him?"

"They shot him with an ecto-weapon first, then snagged him with a ghost net and transferred him to some sort of boxy thing, yeah."

"Well, I guess the good news is, he's not going to be able to revert in something like that. Let's hope they don't open it up before we can get to them. Val. When did they switch to the jet?"

"They just took off about ten minutes ago."

"You still with 'em?"

"Hanging back so they don't see us, but yeah."

"And where are you now?"

"I told you. Illinois."

Sam growled. "You're gonna have to be a little more specific, Val. Illinois's a big freakin' state."

"Here. I'll send you a signal on the GPS."

Dani, sitting beside her in the passenger seat, heard Valerie over her own Fenton Phone and reached over to flip on the Speeder's GPS. It showed their own location as a green dot heading west out of Amity Park. A red dot appeared further west, past Joliet. Sam nodded. "Okay, Val. I've got you west of Joliet, headed southwest toward Peoria."

"Think you can catch up?"

"I think so. If we punch it, we might be able to reach you before you get to Peoria."

"Then what's the plan?"

Sam drummed her fingers on the steering yoke. "Good question. We've got you and Tuck, me, Dani, Jazz, Nick, a big ferocious ghost-wolf, and a whole bunch of Thralls."

"Wait. Did you say Nick?"

"Yeah." Sam glanced over her shoulder. "Jazz got him up to speed."

Nick leaned forward. He, too, was wearing a Fenton Phone in his ear. "I don't know how much you know about government operations like this, but guaranteed they're taking him to one heck of a secure facility. My dad was stationed at Area 51 for a couple of years when I was a teenager, and let me tell you, those types of bases are locked down _tight_. I never got past the outer fence myself, and never did know what kind of work my dad did there. It's gonna be quite a trick getting Danny out of a place like that."

Danielle stared straight ahead, her jaw set and her voice low. "_I_ can get him out."

Sam flipped off the speaker to her Fenton Phone. "Oh, no. You aren't going anywhere near a big, secure base, you got me? If they find out about you—"

"Or if you sap all your energy using too many of your ghost powers," Jazz added.

"This is _Danny_ we're talking about," Danielle argued, as if any of them needed reminding.

"You think I don't get that?" Sam shook her head. "But I am not gonna be the one who has to tell him that in getting him back, we lost _you_. And if they find out about you, his identity's blown anyway, which kinda makes the whole thing pointless."

"So are _you_ gonna go intangible and invisible to get him out, then?"

Sam gave her a hard look. "We need a better plan." She flipped the speaker back on. "Okay, Val. Did you copy what Nick said about the kind of place they'll be taking him?"

"Got it. Sounds like our best bet is to intercept them en route."

"Definitely."

"Uh… I know I brought it up," Nick said, "but please tell me you're not planning on shooting down a government plane."

"No. That's what the ghosts are for. We'll sic the Thralls on 'em. With that many ghosts coming at them, they'll be forced to land, and once they're on the ground, Wulf can help keep 'em busy."

Wulf flashed a predatory grin._ "Aj, Mi teniĝos ilin okupatan."_

"Just _busy_, Wulf. You can't hurt them. _Ne dolorantaj la homoj_. The rest of us will get Danny out of there." She glanced at Danielle, relenting. "And… we might need a little invisibility and intangibility for that."

Dani grinned, victorious, and Sam responded with a warning look. "Only if we stop them en route."

"Sounds like a plan," Valerie said. "Let's just hope it plays in Peoria."

Sam rolled her eyes. "You've been ghost-hunting with Danny too long. Your puns stink."

"So…" Nick sounded apprehensive. "I know I'm just the noob around here, but do you really think you can beat these guys?"

Sam glanced over her shoulder. "They're actually not as good as they think they are. They were pretty inept when they started out."

"They have gotten better," Jazz pointed out.

"Yeah, but so have we. And we've been doing it longer. As long as they don't know who and what Danny is, and how to find him when he's not a ghost, then he'll be okay." Sam gripped the steering yoke again. _He has to be._

* * *

They were over farmland somewhere northeast of Peoria when they finally caught up with Valerie and Tucker and the plane they were tailing. Sam had turned on the Specter Speeder's cloaking, so she double-clicked the talkback on her Fenton Phone to let Valerie know they were there.

"Now what?" Jazz asked.

"I guess we send the Thralls out to swarm them. That should force them to land."

"And… these 'Thralls,' they're just gonna follow your directions?"

Sam shrugged. "Not really sure. But they seem to listen to Wulf." She glanced back at the huge ghost-wolf. "_Ĉu vi scias kion fari_, Wulf?"

"_Jes. Mi komprenas la planon."_ He turned around in the cramped space, nearly knocking Jazz into Nick's lap in the process, and phased his head into the back compartment of the Specter Speeder.

A moment latter, a swarm of green, blob-like ghosts streamed out from the back compartment. There were dozens of them, filling the sky, and moaning in something that sounded almost like a ghostly battle cry. Valerie had to dodge to get out of their way, but they ignored her and Tucker, heading straight for the plane that was about a quarter mile ahead of them. Its pilot realized fairly quickly that they were under attack, and they swung around to counter-attack. Ecto-missiles came screaming at them, and Sam and Valerie both veered out of the way, each of them resisting the urge to fight back. They needed to stay cloaked and hidden and let the ghosts do their part.

Fortunately, the Thralls were pretty good at evading them, and with so many of them crowding around the plane, eventually it was forced to land in a barren cornfield near Route 23. Sam brought the Speeder down as close as she dared, at the edge of the field where there were some trees they could use for cover. Valerie came in beside her, and Tucker rolled off the sled, landing on his hands and knees, kissing the ground. "Oh, solid land, I will never leave you again!" Rolling onto his back, he looked up at Valerie. "I love you, Val, but I am _never_ getting on that thing with you again."

"Never's a long time, baby."

Sam, Dani, Jazz, Nick, and Wulf clambered out of the Speeder and hunched down behind the trees with Valerie and Tucker. About a hundred yards away, eight Guys in White had come out of the plane and were trying to fight off the Thralls. Wulf craned his head at them, an eager look in his animal eyes. _"Mia turn aktuale?"_

Sam nodded in confirmation. "Yeah, it's your turn, Wulf. You and the Thralls have to keep them busy and lure them away from the plane. Uh… _Akiri ilin for de la aviadilo_. Give us about ten minutes, and then get out of there. Claw yourself and the Thralls back to the Ghost Zone if you have to, okay? _Dek minutoj, tiame deir. Reen al la Fantomo Zono_."

"_Mi komprenas." _And with an unearthly howl, he bounded off toward the skirmish.

"I'm going, too," Valerie said. "As the 'Ghost Hunter Girl,' I'm already more closely associated with Danny Phantom than Danny Fenton anyway. They're probably half expecting me to come after them."

Tucker, still looking a little green, put a hand on her arm. "Be careful. If they catch you…"

She smiled. "No way they'll even get close. As soon as you get Danny, double-click me on the Fenton Phones. Don't wait for me, though; just get Danny out. I'll meet you back home."

Sam shook her head. "Let's go to Hammond instead. Too many Guys in White still hanging around Amity Park. Danny's better off laying low at his dorm."

"Gotcha. Hammond it is." Then she was off.

"And the rest of us?" Jazz asked.

Sam chewed on her lip. In Danny's absence, everyone was looking to her as the sort of de-facto leader. "Okay. We need to get into that plane and get that containment box out, obviously."

"We should probably take out the jetpacks so they can't chase us once we get him out of there," Tucker suggested. "The plane will be harder to get off the ground in this field. I can hack into the packs with my PDA."

"I can help with that," Nick said.

"Cool. Danielle will get us in and get Danny. I'll go along as backup, and Jazz can pick us up in the Specter Speeder when we've got him."

"Sounds simple enough," Jazz said.

* * *

Of course, "simple enough" never seemed to work out that way in real life. They got in okay, Sam, Dani, Tucker, and Nick all linking hands so Dani could take them right through the fuselage into the cargo area at the back of the plane. There they found both jetpacks and the ecto-containment cube that Tucker confirmed was the source of Danny's ecto-signature. The pilot was still in the cockpit, but Tucker and Nick worked quickly and silently to disable the jetpacks, while Dani hovered nearby, ready to turn them invisible if necessary, and Sam kept watch with her Fenton Wrist Ray ready. When Tucker and Nick finished, each of the four of them grabbed a different side of the cube. Danielle made them all invisible and intangible once more, and they phased through the fuselage and out onto the empty cornfield.

As soon as the box itself passed outside of the plane, however, an alarm began blaring so loudly that Sam almost dropped her side of it to cover her ears. The two Guys in White who had been stationed outside the plane ran around back and, when they didn't see anything, immediately used their scanning equipment to lock onto the containment box.

"There it is! Point oh-three-seven, with four heat signatures… wait, are those _humans_?"

"Who cares? Just shoot!"

Keeping her left hand on the box so as to stay within Dani's invisibility cover, Sam took aim with the Wrist Ray on her right arm and blasted at them before they could bring their weapons up to bear. Fortunately, the Fenton ecto-weapons could deliver a nice punch to humans without seriously hurting them. Unfortunately, that meant the Guys in White were back on their feet quickly, and although Sam and the rest had the invisibility advantage, they were rendered largely immobile due to the fact that they all had to stay together and keep hold on the box for Dani to keep them all invisible. Sam and Dani were the only ones in a position to fire on them, and Dani's powers weren't strong enough for her to simultaneously use her ghost ray and maintain invisibility for four-plus-a-box for more than a minute or two, tops. Sam heard the whine of the Specter Speeder's turbines from the direction of the trees at the edge of the field as Jazz powered it up to come in and grab them, but she wasn't sure she would make it there before one of them got shot.

And then, with a bone-chilling howl and a flash of white teeth and black fur, the two Guys in White were batted aside like rag dolls. _"Evit miaj amikoj!"_

Sam didn't even have time to thank Wulf, because the roar of the Speeder's rockets and a massive gust of wind announced its arrival. Although it was still cloaked, when Jazz opened the hatch, the Speeder's interior appeared before them like a doorway to another dimension, and they scurried on board as quickly as they could while still dragging the containment box. Once they were all four inside, Jazz closed the hatch and stomped down on the throttle, blasting them away from the cornfield.

As soon as they leveled out, Sam threw herself at the box. "Tucker, can you get this thing open?"

He pulled out a cable attachment from his PDA and hooked it into the box. A few taps of various buttons, and then it popped open, spitting out Danny, still in ghost form, to land in a heap in Sam's lap.

"Danny!" She gathered him into her arms. "Danny, wake up! Are you okay?"

Jazz spared a glance over her shoulder. "Is he okay?"

Sam felt for a pulse, which was strong, and his chest was rising and falling normally. "I think he's just unconscious. And he's still in ghost form, which is a good sign. If he were too weak, he'd have reverted as soon as he was released from the box." She smoothed his white hair back from his forehead.

He groaned in response, his eyelids fluttering open. "Sam?"

"Danny!" She let out a breath she didn't even realize she'd been holding. "Thank God! You scared us half to death!"

"What happened? Where are we?"

"You got nabbed by the Guys in White while you were fighting Walker's goons in Amity Park. We're in the Specter Speeder, somewhere in Illinois, near Peoria."

"Illinois?" He pushed away from her so he could sit up, and rubbed his head with his hand. "Ow! What'd they get me with?"

"Ecto-weapon of some sort," Jazz replied from the driver's seat. "Then they grabbed you with a ghost net and put you inside that box."

"And we're in Illinois because…?"

"This is where we caught up with them," Sam said. "But we're headed back to Hammond. We figured we're better off staying on campus than back in Amity Park for the rest of the weekend."

Danny frowned. "Wait. You chased after them?"

"Duh, dude." Tucker joined the conversation. "What did you think, we were gonna let them haul you away like that?"

"Are you guys _nuts_? You can't go after the _feds_! They'll be dragging you in next!"

"They never knew it was us," Sam told him. "Wulf and a bunch of Thralls kept them busy, while we got you out."

"Wulf and… what? _Thralls_?"

"And Valerie," Tucker added.

Danny gaped at him, then at Sam. "What were you guys _thinking_?"

"Uh… saving your butt?" Sam crossed her arms across her chest. "Relax. We got out clean. Valerie was the only one they saw, and they already know the 'Ghost Hunter Girl' hangs with Danny Phantom. The Specter Speeder was cloaked the whole time, and Dani kept the rest of us invisible."

"Dani?" Now he looked around, even more alarmed, his eyes finally finding Dani, who was slumped in one of the seats, looking a little drained.

"Hey, cos." She gave him a weak smile and wave.

"Dani! What happened? Are you okay?"

"I'm good. Really. Nothing a little rest won't fix."

"Are you guys crazy, getting Dani involved? What if her ghost powers had—" And then he finally saw Nick. "Uh… hey? You're, uh, probably wondering—"

Sam cut him off with a hand on his shoulder. "It's okay, he knows. Jazz told him."

Danny blinked. "Oh."

"Yeah." Nick rubbed the back of his head and offered Danny a sheepish smile. "I'm not gonna give you away or anything."

Jazz glanced over her shoulder again. "I'm _so_ sorry, Danny. I know it's not my secret to tell, and that I'm the one who gave you away in Antarctica too, but I couldn't keep making up stories anymore. It just wasn't—"

"Jazz, stop." Danny smiled at his sister. "It's fine. It's not just my secret; it has a huge effect on your life, too." Then he looked at Nick. "So, uh, welcome to Team Phantom, I guess."

"Thanks… I think."

Tucker grinned. "Yeah, it's kind of a dubious honor. You get a lot of ghosts chasing you all the time, and the occasional skirmish with the feds. But chicks dig ghost fighters."

Sam cuffed him upside the head. "Your 'chick' _is_ a ghost fighter."

"Which would be why she digs them."

"Speaking of… where is Valerie?" Danny asked Tucker.

"She's meeting us back in Hammond."

"I'm tracking her on the GPS," Jazz told him. "She just started heading our way. She'll probably be, like, ten or fifteen minutes behind us."

Danny looked around at all of them. "Okay, then. And since we've got some time to kill, maybe someone can fill me in on what exactly happened here."


	27. The Ring: Part II

_ **November  
Five years after the accident  
Age 19** _

They stopped in front of Sam's apartment about a block away from the Purdue Calumet campus, but waited inside the Specter Speeder for Valerie to catch up with them. They hadn't heard from her on the Fenton Phones and were a little concerned, so they monitored her progress on the Speeder's GPS. About ten minutes after they got there, they heard the whine of her jet sled, and then it shut down and she appeared in the Speeder's open hatch.

Tucker threw himself at her. "Valerie! We were getting worried! You didn't call, and we couldn't get a hold of you…"

She embraced him in return, then backed off. "Yeah, the Guys in White got off a lucky shot and fried my com system."

"What?" Tucker gaped at her. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, but I've got some bad news." Then, she spotted Danny in one of the back seats. A relieved smile crossed her features briefly, until she schooled them into something resembling reproach. "I see we saved your ghost butt again, Phantom. That's another one you owe us."

"Yeah, yeah, put it on my tab. So what's the bad news?"

"They got Wulf and about a dozen of the Thralls. They managed to get their plane off the ground, even in that cornfield, and they're headed west again."

"What?" Danny jumped up, nearly hitting his head on the Speeder's roof. "The Guys in White captured Wulf?"

"Pretty much. I tried to stop them, but the rest of the Thralls bugged out, and I was too outnumbered. That's how they fried my com system, so I couldn't even call you guys for help."

Danny clenched his fists at his side. "I gotta go after them."

Jazz was already starting up the Speeder's engine. "Way ahead of you, little brother."

"No. Not all of us. Just me."

"Uh…" Sam put her hands on her hips. "Let me think about that for a minute. No!"

"Yeah, I'm with her, dude," Tucker said.

"I'm not giving you guys a choice. I want you to stay here, or go back to Amity Park if you want, but I'm taking the Specter Speeder and going after them."

"No." Sam glared at him.

"Sam… you guys took way too big a risk coming after me. I'm not gonna have you get arrested—"

"Yeah, well, we're not too big on you getting arrested, either. Hence the coming after you."

"I won't get arrested. I can stay a step ahead of them."

"Like you did back in Amity Park?"

"I was trying to fight off a whole gang of Walker's Goons at the time! If it's just me and the Guys in White—"

"No."

"Sam, think about it. I'm already on their wanted list, but if you guys get caught? How long before they come back to Danny Fenton? And to Danielle?"

His "cousin" scowled at him. "Would you quit worrying about me? I'm fine."

Sam let out an exasperated huff of air. "The Specter Speeder has cloaking. We can stay hidden."

"We've already taken too many chances with the cloaking. I want you guys to report it stolen as soon as I leave, and then it's just the Ghost Boy being the nuisance they already think I am."

"Danny—"

Valerie put a hand up to stop her. "It doesn't matter. It's a moot point, anyway—they're already gone. How are we gonna find them?"

Danny frowned. "How did you find them before?"

Holding up his PDA, Tucker replied, "We tracked your ecto-signature."

"Can we track Wulf's?"

"We could, if I had it programmed in."

Danny slammed his fist into the back of the seat he was standing beside. "Dammit! I can't just leave him to the Guys in White! They're worse than Walker! And he's in this mess because of me!"

Jazz's eyes widened. "Wait a minute. The Specter Speeder has a DNA sampler. Wulf's DNA would carry his ecto-signature, right? Tucker, you can program the Speeder's GPS to track him, can't you?"

"Sure, but where are we gonna get a sample of Wulf's DNA?"

Jazz pulled off the scarf that was around her neck. "Between him pouncing on me, slobbering on me, and being crammed next to him in here while we chased Danny, there must be something on this we could use." She pushed a few buttons on the control panel, and Tucker and Nick both climbed up front to help her.

Sam, meanwhile, continued her argument with Danny. "I still don't like you going alone."

"It's a lot less risky than you all coming, too, and you know it."

"I can go with you," Valerie offered. "I'm in the same boat as you. The Ghost Hunter Girl's already on their list. Then you wouldn't have to take the Speeder."

Danny shook his head. "They've got too big a head start, Val. You'd never catch 'em on your sled, and they already got a shot off at you once. No. I'm doing this alone."

She nodded, but Sam clenched her jaw in irritation before finally relenting. "Okay, fine. You go alone. But I'm giving you a time limit." She looked outside the Speeder's windshield to see the gloom of dusk settling around them. "You've only got until midnight. If you're not back by midnight, I'm coming after you."

"Sam…"

"No arguments, Danny. That's more than six hours. If you can't get him back in six hours, I'm coming after you, period."

"We _all_ are," Valerie agreed.

Now it was Danny's turn to concede. "All right. That should be more than enough time. Zip in, grab Wulf, zip back out again."

Sam arched an eyebrow at him. "Yeah, and it always works out so well when you say that."

"It'll be fine, Sam."

"Okay, got it!" Tucker turned around. "Looks like they just crossed the Mississippi River into Missouri. Dang. That's a huge head start they've got."

"The Specter Speeder's faster than their jet. I'll catch up with them." He looked around. "Okay, I'll be back in a couple of hours—with Wulf and the Thralls."

Sam gave him a look of warning. "You'd better be."

One by one, they wished him luck and exited the Speeder, until Sam alone was left inside with him. She tugged at the green and gold University of Wisconsin-Madison class ring on her left ring finger, pulling it off and holding it out to him. He met her eyes a moment before accepting the ring with a nod of understanding.

It was an established ritual between them since Antarctica. Whenever he had to do something dangerous on his own, she would give him the ring. His acceptance was an unspoken promise to return it when he came back. It was her way of reminding him to be careful, and that she needed him to come back. Pocketing the ring, he leaned in and kissed her.

"Midnight," she told him as she turned to go. "If you're not back here at my apartment by midnight, I'm calling your parents and we're coming after you with the Fenton Jet. Got it?"

He smiled at her. "Got it."

* * *

Sam awoke with a start in pitch darkness, disoriented. It took her a moment to realize why she was confused—she was in her bed, fully clothed except for her boots, but the last thing she remembered was sitting at her desk, where she'd been… what? Checking online for wire stories about Danny's arrest…

_Danny!_

Gasping, she sat upright as everything came flooding back. After Danny had left in the Specter Speeder, the others had taken a cab back to Amity Park to check in with Danny's parents and find out if Walker and his Goons were still causing trouble. Sam, meanwhile, impatiently waited for Danny's return at her small, one-bedroom campus apartment, filling the evening by eating, watching TV—Danny's capture had made both local and national news—and checking the various news feeds online to see what they were saying about Danny's arrest and if word of his escape had gotten out yet. She also checked to see if the pundits and commentators were weighing in, but apparently it was too soon. The way the anti-ghost rhetoric had been heating up over the last few months concerned her. It was exactly that sort of climate that made it possible for the Guys in White to do something like this without fearing a massive public backlash.

She must have somehow fallen asleep while online, however—though how she ended up in her bed with all the lights off, she wasn't sure—and now it was… what time was it, anyway? Glancing at her alarm clock, she gasped. 1:37! An hour and a half past Danny's midnight deadline, and he hadn't returned! Fighting back panic, she reached over and turned on her bedside lamp. When her eyes adjusted to the light, she started to get out of bed, but something glinting in the light caught her eye, and she stopped.

On the pillow next to the one she'd been sleeping on lay a gold and green ring. _Her_ ring. Beneath it was a note written in Danny's lazy scrawl. Slipping the ring back on her finger, she picked up the note.

_Sam—_

_Everything's fine. Got Wulf and thirteen Thralls away from the GIW—they hardly even put up a fight. _

She made a small sound of disbelief, knowing him well enough to know a whitewash when she saw one, but she continued reading.

_Got back at 11:53. 7 minutes to spare! You were asleep at your desk—didn't look too comfortable, but I didn't want to wake you, so I moved you to your bed. _

That raised an eyebrow, too. How had he moved her without waking her? Unless… She scrunched up her nose. He probably just overshadowed her.

_I'm gonna go take Wulf, the Thralls, and the Speeder back to AP so Wulf doesn't have to claw open his own portal to get back to the GZ. Don't worry—I'll go as DF and stay clear of any lingering GIW. I wanna check in with everyone, pick up my car and the stuff I brought home for the weekend, etc. I need to see how Dani's doing, too. She didn't look great when I left._

Sam felt a twinge of guilt at that. She couldn't really tell if there was an accusation between the lines—she had promised to look out for Dani, after all. But the next few sentences reassured her that he wasn't mad at her.

_If you wake up before I get back, stay here. Unless Dani's really sick, I'll come straight back here from my parents'. I know you'll worry until you see for yourself I'm okay. Which I am. Promise. If I need to stay in AP for Dani, I'll call you, no matter the time._

_I love you._  
—_Danny_

Sam folded the note and put it on her nightstand. She was looking at her phone, debating whether she should call his cell just to make sure he really was okay and to find out how Dani was doing, when she heard keys rattling in her apartment's front door. She rushed out into the living room just as Danny was locking the door behind him after letting himself in with the spare key she'd given him when she'd first moved in.

"Danny!"

"Oh, hey. You're awake. Did you get my—?"

He was cut off when she threw herself into his arms and kissed him.

"—note?" he finished when they came up for air a moment later. But before he could say anything more, she was kissing him again, relief turning into desire at the need to feel him in her arms and to really know in every part of her that he'd dodged yet another bullet; that he was here, safe once more.

Her hands twisted into his hair, and she drew him even closer, her mouth covering his as she tugged, teasing, on his lower lip. He dropped the duffel bag he'd been holding, leaving his hands free to roam down her sides, then slip under her shirt to glide along the skin on her back. Everywhere he touched her was electric, and she shivered, craving more. Wanting to return the favor, she yanked off his jacket, then broke off the kiss so she could pull his t-shirt off over his head and toss it aside. She let her hands explore his bare shoulders and chest, her lips following behind. There were the usual old scars, with which she was well acquainted, and also some new bruises that were already beginning to turn varying shades of purple, along with one nasty cut across his shoulder that looked like it had some antiseptic smeared on it. Determined not to let worry overcome her again—he was _here_, and _safe_ now—she worked her way around the injuries and back up to his neck, her tongue sampling the slightly salty taste of his throat. He leaned his head back against the door, his eyes half closed as he whispered her name, sending another thrill down her spine.

Then, with something almost like a growl, he turned them both around so that she was the one pressed back against the door as his lips claimed hers once more. She'd never felt so hungry for him before, so desperate to feel him everywhere, his skin on hers, with nothing between them. For three years, they'd been so cautious, but the only risk that seemed real to her right now was the risk of losing him. The fact that she hadn't, not this time, made her long for him, and not just in the ways they'd settled for up until now.

Abruptly, he wrenched himself back, breathing heavily, his eyes dark and full of desire as they met hers. "I think… if we keep going like this, it's gonna be awfully hard to stop."

She held his gaze for what seemed like forever, and when she finally spoke, it was a hoarse whisper. "Then let's not stop."

His eyes widened, and he gave her a questioning look, which she answered by taking his face in her hands and pulling him back into another long, breathless kiss.

* * *

The sun was up, filtering into her bedroom through half-opened purple velvet drapes, when Sam awoke to find blue eyes looking into hers. She and Danny were both curled on their sides, their faces inches away from each other. He looked like he'd been awake awhile, watching her with a content smile.

"Hi," she said, feeling oddly shy.

"Hi." He made no move to back away now that she was awake, instead taking his hand and stroking her cheek. "You are so beautiful. I could _so_ get used to waking up like this."

She blushed, a smile curling on her lips. "Yeah, me too. It's almost enough to make a morning person out of me." She closed her eyes as he bridged what little distance there was between them to kiss her, but only for a moment before she pulled back, opening her eyes to look at him once more. "Except for the morning breath."

"Sorry."

"I meant me. But I guess we both could benefit from a toothbrush right about now." She started to sit up, but his hand on her arm stopped her.

"Don't go. Not yet."

She relented, staying in place on her side, while he raised himself up on one elbow to look down at her. "You are so amazing. I…" He shook his head, slightly dazed, as if he'd run out of words. "I just hope you're not… that you don't regret… anything. Do you? I know you've been taking birth control pills for a while now, but we still don't know for sure—"

She put her finger to his lips to silence him. "Absolutely no regrets. Well, the morning breath, maybe."

"I'm serious, Sam."

"So am I. I think we're probably safe, but if not… I know we're only nineteen, and it wouldn't exactly be ideal right now, but we are adults, and it's not like money's an issue. There are worse things that could happen. Bigger regrets." She swallowed. "Like pretending we don't live dangerous lives, and missing the chance to ever—"

This time he stopped her, leaning in for another kiss. She responded, morning breath be damned. It was softer and much less heated than the night before, but she could have easily gotten back there pretty quickly if he hadn't pulled away after a moment to meet her gaze once more. "I love you. And I'm not going anywhere, okay? I… I have too much to come back for."

She looked up at him. "Promise?"

He took her left hand, his fingers interlocking with hers as he showed her the class ring on her finger. "That's the whole point of the thing we do with the ring, right?"

"I know, but… I want to hear it in words, Danny. Promise you'll always come back to me."

"I promise, Sam." He kissed her again. "I will always come back to you."


	28. Mr Foley Goes to Washington

_ **September  
Eleven years after the accident  
Age 25** _

By the time he was twenty-five, Tucker thought he had his future pretty well laid out for him. Hired by Axion straight out of college, elected to his first term in the Indiana State House of Representatives six months later, then re-elected two years after that, the plan was now for him to finish out the remaining year of his House term, then run for the state Senate. A term or two as state senator, then maybe he could start looking at a full-time political career. A run for Governor, or the U.S. House of Representatives, perhaps.

But that was years down the road. Five, at least. Or so was the plan, until Representative Hatcher of Indiana's District One, where Amity Park was located, was killed in a boating accident on Lake Michigan over Labor Day weekend. Two days afterwards, two of the top state leaders of Tucker's party, along with the House Minority Whip, a congressman from California, came to Amity Park to meet with him.

"You want _me_ to run for Congress?"

"Absolutely, Mr. Foley. Surely you've considered it."

"Well, yeah, but not _yet_. I'm the second-youngest person in the General Assembly, and I wasn't even old enough to run for state senator until a couple of months ago."

"Which makes you old enough to run for the U.S. House of Representatives, too."

"Old enough to run, but to get elected? Hardly anyone under thirty gets elected to Congress. Surely there are better, more experienced people to run. I can think of three state senators from Congressional District One off the top of my head—"

"Do I need to remind you that you were Mayor of Amity Park _two years_ before you were even old enough to vote? That you still hold the record for the youngest person in the nation to ever serve as a mayor?"

"Well, yeah, but I was appointed to that position, and that was within hours of getting my name splashed all over the news for helping Danny Phantom save the world from that asteroid."

"Exactly."

Tucker leaned back in his seat, folding his arms. "Oh, I see. You think I've still got connections."

"You're a known ghost hunter, and your most notable achievement in the state General Assembly was the passage of the bill you championed regulating ghost hunting in Indiana. Thanks to you, we have the most comprehensive protections for ecto-beings in the nation. Don't think that hasn't gone a long way towards making a name for you in this district. While the nation may be polarized over ecto-rights, Indiana District One is overwhelmingly in favor of them, largely because of Amity Park and your local ghost celebrity, Danny Phantom."

"You make it sound like I'm a one-trick pony. Ghost rights isn't the only issue important to me. Education, for example. We're still lagging way behind Japan in technological development, because our school kids are learning on outdated equipment. And health care—"

Up until this point, the local guys had done all the talking. Now the congressman from California smiled. "Yes, of course, Mr. Foley. These are top priorities for our party as well. And if you get elected, you can work on all of these. Besides, you've done all you can for ghost rights at the state level. Wouldn't you like a crack at the federal Anti-Ecto Code? Get the kind of legislation you helped pass here enacted on a federal level?" He leaned forward. "I can almost guarantee you a seat on the Homeland Security Committee's Ecto Affairs Subcommittee if you're elected."

Tucker thought of Danny's near-arrest by the Guys in White six years earlier. Six years, and still nothing had changed. Heck, it'd been _nine_ years since the asteroid, and still Danny Phantom was considered an outlaw by the federal government, despite all the times and ways he'd saved people's lives over and over again. "Yeah, I'd like a crack at the federal Anti-Ecto Code."

"Then give it some serious consideration. Your governor will be calling a special election to fill Representative Hatcher's seat by the end of the month. It might be your best chance to get your foot in the door and get yourself a place on Capitol Hill."

Tucker drummed his fingers on the table. "I'll need a day or two to think it over."

* * *

His parents were thrilled with the idea of their son running for Congress. Sam was ecstatic, already coming up with legislation he could push for once he was sworn in, and he hadn't even decided to run yet.

Danny was supportive, but a little noncommittal. "I'm selfish, that's all. I don't like the idea of you not being in Amity Park full-time. But if this is something you wanna do, Tuck, then go for it. I'm with you all the way."

Valerie was the most evasive of all, telling him only that she wanted whatever he wanted, and that the decision was his.

In the end, he'd decided to run, and before the month was over, he made history once again, becoming the third youngest person ever elected to Congress, and the youngest member of the current U.S. House of Representatives.

* * *

With his victory party at the Garnier Hotel in full swing, Tucker finally found a moment alone with Valerie. "Let's go for a walk."

"Now? It's the middle of your victory party!"

"I know, but we've barely had five seconds to talk over the last few weeks. I need to get away for a bit. Come take a walk with me, okay?"

She relented, and they slipped out, heading for the lake.

"I'm proud of you, Tuck," she told him as they walked along the hotel beach. "You're gonna be a really good congressman."

"I know this happened really fast, Val, and now all of a sudden I've gotta go to Washington, when a month ago I never even considered leaving Axion. At least not this soon."

"Yeah. I'm gonna miss you when you're there."

Tucker stopped. "Come with me, Val."

"What? To Washington?"

"Yes." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box, swallowing nervously as he handed it to her. Her expression unreadable, she opened the box, revealing the diamond ring inside, and he swallowed again. "Will you marry me, Valerie?"

Her eyes widened. "Tucker, don't you think your life just changed enough for one month?"

"I know, but you're the part I don't want to change. I want us together, wherever we are."

"Tuck…" She bit her lip, and he knew before she said anything more that he wasn't going to get the answer he wanted. She handed the ring back to him. "I… I don't think I'm the right person to be a congressman's wife." Then, a self-deprecating smirk ghosted across her face. "Pretty ironic, since that's exactly the kind of thing I would've aspired to back before my dad's bankruptcy."

While he wasn't completely shocked at her refusal—she'd been hesitant to get engaged when they'd discussed it in the past—her reason surprised him. "You're not the right person to be a congressman's wife? What's that supposed to mean?"

"You got through this election without anyone digging too deeply into your personal life, but you're gonna have to run in the regular election next year, and then people are gonna start asking questions. I've got a few too many skeletons in my closet to stand up to the kind of scrutiny a congressman's fiancée would get, don't you think?"

"What skeletons in your closet? Everyone knows you're the 'Ghost Hunter Girl' now. You've even started your own ghost hunting business."

"Yeah, but you know as well as I do that the suit everyone thinks is just cool tech is really ecto-based. It's in my blood, Tuck. Literally. I may not be half ghost, but I'm as much in violation of the anti-ecto laws as Danny is."

"Why do you think I wanted to get into the House in the first place? So we can change those laws."

"Right, but in the meantime, what happens if someone digs a little too deep? I know I'm not in the same kind of danger from the Guys in White as Danny is, but Lord knows if the truth got out, it wouldn't be pretty. And that's not even getting into the _other_ stuff. All it would take is a little digging into my past connections with Vlad, and—"

"Oh, no. You are _not_ gonna use that to put up a wall between us. If Vlad had kept any records of what he did to you, they would've been found _nine years ago_ when the authorities seized all his stuff after he tried to hold the entire world for ransom. The mansion in Amity Park and the chalet in Colorado—even the rubble in Wisconsin—they went through everything with a fine-tooth comb, and nothing came out about any of that. And that was a good year before we even knew the truth."

"Still, I can't take the risk."

"That's a load, and you know it. And if you felt this way, why the heck didn't you say something _before_ I ran?"

"Because I don't wanna be the one who holds you back!"

"But you're okay with me making a decision about our future without knowing how you felt about it?"

"Not _our_ future, Tucker. _Your_ future."

He glared at her. "And you didn't think that after _seven years_ together, I might consider them one and the same? It's not like me proposing is exactly out of the blue. We've talked about it before."

"And I've said I wasn't ready. This is exactly why."

"Because you didn't want me to run for national office, but didn't bother to clue me into that fact?"

"Tucker…"

"No, Val. This can't be an excuse. If you didn't want to be married to a congressman, you could have said something before I ran. Don't use it now as an excuse to push me away. You either want to be with me, or you don't. Which is it?"

She closed her eyes, and he had his answer. Slipping the ring into his coat pocket, he turned away from her.

"Tucker, I'm sorry."

Without turning back, he said softly. "Yeah, Val. So am I."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You'd think it would be easy to find out who the youngest person ever elected to Congress was, but I had a hard time getting a straight answer. Mostly I found stuff on the youngest current member of Congress, which is kind of irrelevant for a story set in the future, but very little on the youngest members of all time. I did find a blurb from the **Washington Post's Political Junkie Archive** that said William Charles Cole Claiborne of Tennessee was elected to Congress at the age of 21 in 1796, despite being four years shy of the U.S. Constitution's requirement that members of the U.S. House of Representatives be at least 25. In 1964, Jed Johnson, Jr. of Oklahoma was elected one month shy of turning 25. I could find no other references to members of Congress younger than 26, which would make Tucker, at 25 + a few months, the third youngest ever elected.


	29. The Ghost of Christmas Present: Part VII

_ **Amity Park  
December 23, Midnight CST** _

After her phone call with Tucker, Sam decided to call it a night. She packed up her laptop and turned off all the regular lights, leaving the Christmas tree as the room's only source of illumination. She left the stereo on as well, so she could listen while she finished locking up. Then, she went into the kitchen to get those lights, only to find Maddie's lasagna still sitting on the counter. She hadn't come back in here after dinner to put it in the freezer because she didn't want to get in the middle of Jack's and Nick's argument/competition, and by the time they'd left, she'd forgotten. Sighing, she rummaged around in the cupboard where she kept her plastic storage containers, pulling out several of them so that she could freeze the lasagna as individual servings. After she divided it up among the containers and put them into the freezer, pausing only a moment to blink away memories as she pushed aside Danny's bag of chicken breasts, she went back to the sink to tackle cleaning the casserole dish.

While she was scrubbing a spot of soy cheese that had crusted on the bottom, she felt a familiar twinge of cold in her abdomen, as if she had swallowed an ice cube whole, and its coldness was only now registering as it hit her stomach. Sighing, she waited a beat and, without looking up from scrubbing the dish, said, "A little late tonight, aren't you? It's after midnight."

A whining protest rose up behind her. "Hey, no fair! You didn't even let me say, 'Beware!'"

"Ghosts know their own."

"But you are not a ghost!"

She shrugged. "Ghost Sense by proxy."

Being able to feel the baby's Ghost Sense was probably the one part of pregnancy that Sam was going to miss once he was born. It had taken her a while to recognize the cold feeling for what it was—it wasn't nearly as obvious as Danny's Ghost Sense, which made him so cold he could see his breath no matter how warm the day. Now that she knew what that tiny little twinge in her belly meant, however, she found it came in handy. Not that the ghosts were a threat to her. With the exception of Walker and his Goons, not a single of the Ghost Zone's denizens would so much as lay a finger—or paw, or whatever appendage was applicable—on her. Even so, it was nice to get a little warning when company was imminent, especially with the Box Ghost making regular visits.

"It's still not fair," he repeated, sounding thoroughly disgruntled.

She finished rinsing the dish, then turned to face the pudgy, blue, overall-clad ghost. She was mildly surprised to find that he was alone. "What? No friends tonight?"

Ever since word that she was pregnant with "the Ghost Child's" baby had spread through the Ghost Zone, she'd become almost as much of a curiosity there as in the Human World. The Box Ghost had taken to parlaying his somewhat tenuous acquaintance with her into an attempt at increasing his status among his peers. While this same behavior irritated her from humans, it amused her coming from the Box Ghost. _I-got-sucked-into-the-Fenton-Thermos-by-the-mother-of-the-Ghost-Baby-back-in-the-day_ was such an offbeat claim to fame, she couldn't help but find it almost… endearing.

The Box Ghost looked at her as if she were missing the obvious. "Of course I have not brought any friends with me tonight. Tomorrow is Christmas Eve."

She was about to say that Christmas Eve was the day _after_ tomorrow, until she remembered it was after midnight, which meant it was officially the twenty-third. Then, a thought occurred to her, and she cocked her head, curious. "What time zone would the Ghost Zone be in, anyway? The various natural portals open up into so many different time periods—"

"We have no 'time zones,' like in the Human World."

"Then how do you know when it's Christmas Eve?"

He gave her another disdainful look. "It's Christmas Eve when it's Christmas Eve."

Sam rolled her eyes at the futility of trying to discuss the time-space continuum with the Ghost Zone equivalent of Art Carney on _The Honeymooners_. "So why are you here, if you're not trying to show me off like some zoo exhibit?"

"Because tomorrow is Christmas Eve, and I am the Box Ghost, master of all packages, wrapped and bowed!"

"Then shouldn't you be out haunting the gift-wrapping department at the mall or something?"

He sniffed, looking insulted. "I do not _haunt_ mere retail outlets. I am a purveyor of corrugated cardboard _doom_!" He waggled his fingers for emphasis.

She crossed her arms, leaning back against the counter. "Oh, yeah, you're a real menace."

Her sarcasm lost on him, he nodded in agreement. "But tonight, I am not here to inspire terror and loathing, for it is Christmas, and all ghosts keep the Truce."

"Christmas Eve isn't until tomorrow, remember?"

"I know that!" He suddenly turned sheepish. "But you do not normally partake in our festivities. I didn't figure you'd be coming tomorrow."

"Festivities?" Then she remembered, and her entire posture softened. "The Christmas Truce. Danny always visited the Ghost Zone on Christmas Eve to observe the Truce. I forgot."

The Box Ghost nodded again, blinked a few times, then coughed. "You are welcome to join us, of course, although I'm sure you have your own human celebrations to attend."

She thought of the Christmas Eve vigil. "Observance more than celebration. Although I appreciate the invitation."

"You need no invitation. You are one of us."

That never failed to puzzle her, the way the ghosts viewed connection and belonging. They largely saw Danny as the enemy—with the occasional exception of alliances to defeat a common foe—and yet, he was also one of them. They saw nothing contradictory in their ability to pummel him senseless on December 23rd, then share Eggnog and Christmas Goose with him on the 24th.

Ever since their wedding, Sam had also been absorbed into their paradoxical concept of "the fold." Before she was pregnant, a ghost could have kidnapped, tortured, or even killed her, and none of them would have blinked. But failing to toast her and wish her eternal happiness at her wedding, or to welcome her on Christmas Eve to celebrate the Truce? These were unthinkable offenses. Even the ban on harming her now that she was pregnant seemed a little disingenuous, seeing as Skulker regularly commented that he looked forward to the day when the Ghost Baby's pelt would adorn his trophy room wall. And yet, this was the ghost code of morality, such as it was. It didn't make sense to Sam, but she accepted it.

She'd never thought about participating in the yearly ritual of the Christmas Truce before, however, and wondered now if she'd offended the ghosts by not joining Danny once they were married. "Was I supposed to go? I never really thought I should. Christmas isn't my holiday anyway. My family celebrates Hanukkah."

If her absence over the last few Christmases was an affront to the ghosts, it wasn't apparent from the Box Ghost's indifferent shrug. "I didn't figure you'd be coming. That's why I am here. I… I brought you this." From behind his back, he pulled out a box, gift-wrapped in garish blood-red and ecto-green paper.

Sam's eyes widened. "You're _giving away_ a box?"

He coughed again as he handed her the package. "Well, no. I'll be wanting the box back after you open it. But I wanted to bring a Christmas gift. For the baby."

Sam blinked, not quite sure how to respond. "You brought me a gift?"

"For the baby," he repeated. "_All_ ghosts keep the Truce."

"I didn't get you anything," she said, feeling a little off-kilter.

"Pft." He waved a dismissive hand. "You are not a ghost."

Again, Sam was confused—was she one of them, or not? But he nodded at the box in her hands, distracting her from pondering it further. "Well, go on, open it."

"Now? You don't want me to wait until Christmas?"

He rubbed his hands together, an eager grin on his face. "No. I want the box back, remember?"

"Oh, right." Setting the box down on the kitchen counter, she tore off the hideous paper. As she expected, the box inside was a standard cardboard packing box. She pulled the tape off the top and opened it to find more bubble-wrap than she'd ever seen in her life.

"I'll be wanting that back, too."

She snorted, then began peeling off layers of bubble wrap. Inside was a metal cube about six inches across. It was painted black, with swirls of lurid green, purple, and red decorating each side. A small crank protruded from one end, and a crack around the edge of one side looked like a lid.

The Box Ghost beamed at her. "It's a Jack-in-the—"

"—_Box_. Yeah, I got that."

The Box Ghost nodded, then clapped like an excited child. "Turn the crank!"

Sam winced, a little apprehensive about what might be inside a ghost's Jack-in-the-Box. The regular ones for humans were creepy enough. An eerie music-box tune played as she turned the handle—it reminded her a little of the theme from the infamous _Psycho_ shower scene—and when it reached the end, the top popped open.

The thing that sprung out at her was quite possibly the most gruesome sight Sam had ever seen, which was saying something, since she not only was a ghost fighter, but also had a penchant for gruesome things. It looked vaguely like a green face, only one where the skin was melted partially off the skull. Blood-red eyes protruded out in a way that looked like the thing was being strangled, with one of them dangling out of the socket on a thin thread of bloody muscle. Even expecting something horrible, the thing still startled Sam, and she yelped in surprise.

The Box Ghost clapped again, looking quite pleased with himself. "Isn't it awesome?"

"It… inspires awe, that's for sure." Grimacing, Sam pushed the monstrosity back inside the box and closed the lid.

"It was my daughter's favorite toy when she was little."

Sam stopped, her eyes widening. "This belonged to Box Lunch?"

The first time she, Danny, and Tucker had met the Box Ghost's daughter was twelve years ago, when Clockwork had brought an alternate-future, eight-year-old version of her into their time. She'd been a baby when they'd first run across her in real time two-and-a-half years later, during the Ghost Zone Civil War, and they'd all been a little horrified that Danny changing the past had not prevented the Box Ghost and the Lunch Lady from… propagating. After a few years, however, Box Lunch had grown to be just another denizen of the Ghost Zone that occasionally caused them grief… and occasionally helped them out.

"She used to play with it for hours," the Box Ghost confirmed.

"I…" Sam held the toy up to him. "I can't accept this, Box Ghost. It's a family heirloom."

"No, I insist. Box Lunch thought the Ghost Child would like it."

"But your…" Sam realized she didn't really have a clear concept of the relationship between the Box Ghost and the Lunch Lady, and the more she thought about it, the less she wanted to think about it. She tried again. "Box Lunch's mother isn't exactly a big fan of mine. The whole vegetarian thing is a real issue for her. I can't believe she'd want her daughter's cherished childhood toy to go to me."

"Not to _you_. To the Ghost Baby."

"Box Ghost…"

"Take it. It's for Christmas."

Sam swallowed, deeply moved by the gesture. While the Human World divided into camps over whether her son was a monster or a messiah, it was a ghost who had just given him a simple gift. True, it was one that she wouldn't be able to give him for at least a decade without scarring him for life, even if he did end up inheriting her love of all things macabre. But it was a gift nonetheless. A gesture of kindness to someone whom the Box Ghost claimed as one of his own, without caring that he was half something else. _For the baby. _All_ ghosts keep the Truce_, he'd said. She smiled at him. "Thank you."

Don't mention it," he answered, dismissing it with another wave of his hand. Then, a sort of apprehensive look crossed his features. "No, really. Don't mention it to the Lunch Lady, okay?"


	30. Drabble: The Ghost of Christmas Past

_ **December  
Four months after the accident  
Age 14** _

After four months as a half-ghost, Danny had gotten used to not belonging anywhere. Feared in the Human World and wanted in the Ghost Zone, he was neither fully human nor fully ghost. He was nobody.

Then, he learned about the Christmas Truce. One day a year, when the ghosts put aside all hostilities to come together as family—and they included him.

From that year on, he made it a point to spend some of every Christmas Eve in the Ghost Zone. Though a half-ghost and their enemy, he was one of them. And _all_ ghosts observe the Truce.


	31. The Ring: Part III

_ **October  
Seven years after the accident  
Age 21** _

It wasn't unusual for the Fright Knight to cause trouble around Halloween. What was unusual—and much more dangerous—was for him to show up with the Ghost King's Crown of Fire, then to strike a deal with Prince Aragon to retrieve the Ring of Rage, which was still on Pariah Dark's finger in the Sarcophagus of Forever Sleep. Together, they somehow managed to overpower the former Ghost King after opening the sarcophagus, but the ensuing battle over ownership of the Ring and Crown threatened to throw the Ghost Zone into its third full-scale war against would-be tyrants with nearly absolute power in less than a decade. As usual, war in the Ghost Zone bled into the Human World, especially Amity Park, and while Danny's family and friends protected the home front, Danny went alone into the Ghost Zone to help the ghosts defeat the Fright Knight and Prince Aragon and finally destroy, once and for all, both the Crown of Fire and the Ring of Rage.

When he returned to FentonWorks, battered and bruised but safe, he slept for fifteen hours straight. Once he woke up and everyone knew he was fine, Sam took him back to her apartment in Hammond, where he spent even more time in bed, although definitely _not_ sleeping.

The sun had long since gone down outside Sam's window before Danny even considered wanting to get out of bed, but his stomach was growling and he knew she wouldn't have anything he considered edible in her apartment, so a call to the nearest pizza delivery place was in order. That accomplished—all without even having to get up—he leaned over Sam, brushing back a strand of black hair that was still damp with sweat and sticking to her face. Her unique licorice-and-cloves scent clung to his fingers, and he kissed the bridge of her nose, then met her gaze, smiling. "If this is how you're going to reward me for vanquishing every Ghost King wannabe, I'm gonna seriously consider going around stirring things up to make sure we get more Ghost King wannabes."

In truth, it was a pretty typical reception for a return from a dangerous battle, once they'd concluded that birth control pills seemed to work just fine for them.

She glared at him. "Don't even joke. I'm just glad you're back."

"Me, too." He kissed her again, this time on the mouth.

"Which reminds me," she said between kisses. "What did you do with the ring?"

He stopped kissing her and frowned. "I told you, we destroyed the Ring of Rage, along with the Crown—"

She batted at his shoulder. "Not the Ring of Rage, lamebrain. _My_ ring. I gave it to you to take with you into the Ghost Zone, and you promised to bring it back. Ringing any bells?"

"Ha ha. _Ringing_ any bells. You're very punny."

She grunted. "Where's my ring, Ghost Boy?"

"Um. I think I left it in my backpack."

Sam pushed him back so she could sit up. "You brought it back with you from Amity Park, I hope?"

"Yeah. I had it when we came in. I think I dropped it by the front door. You were in a hurry to get back here, as I recall." He flashed her a lascivious grin.

Rolling her eyes, she threw the covers over his head, thus freeing herself from them, and got out of bed. He untangled himself in time to see her pulling on her fuzzy purple robe, belting it around her waist as she walked out of the bedroom toward the front door, where his backpack was lying, forgotten, on the floor.

His heart thumping, he scrambled around looking for his clothes. He found his boxers on the floor next to the bed, his jeans draped over her computer, and his shirt in the far corner of the room by her closet. Nearly tripping as he stumbled out of her room while simultaneously trying to pull on his jeans, he followed her into the living room. He'd managed to pull his shirt on over his head just as she stopped pawing through his backpack and looked up at him, frowning. "I don't see it, Danny. Are you sure you put it in here?"

He swallowed, trying to keep his voice from cracking as he sat down on the arm of the couch next to the door. "It's in there. Look again."

She dug through the bag once more, pulling out a Fenton Thermos, a handful of experimental Ghost Grenades that he and his dad had worked on together, and his Ecto-flage belt. Laying them on the floor, she shook her head. "It's not here."

Danny saw a glint of silver on the carpet among the Ghost Grenades. Swallowing again, he forced what he hoped was a disinterested look and pointed. "There it is. On the floor."

She looked where he was pointing. "That's not my ring. My ring is gold and green."

"Are you sure about that? You might wanna look again."

She looked closer, picking up the object this time. It was a simple white-gold ring with a deep purple marquise-cut amethyst gemstone surrounded by two small square-cut black onyx baguettes. "Danny, this is not my ring."

He bit back the urge to roll his eyes. Was she being deliberately obtuse, or was she so focused on finding a gold class ring that she wasn't really seeing what was in front of her? "Look closer, Sam. It must be your ring. It has your name in it."

Squinting, Sam held the ring up so she could see the engraving inside. Nothing flowery or romantic; just her name in a plain, Roman font. Then, her breath caught as she finally realized what it was. Her eyes wide and round, she looked up at him. "Danny? Is this…?"

He smiled, shrugging. "I know a diamond is more traditional, but I didn’t want a lecture on conflict diamonds, and somehow, traditional just didn’t seem right for you anyway. Amethyst and onyx suits you better. And this time, _I'm_ the one who had your name engraved in it."

He was proud of that ring, actually. He'd spent months scouring jewelry stores and online sites trying to find the perfect combination of purple and black stones with a white-gold band, but it was hard to find anything other than diamonds. Finally, he'd come across a website that let him design his own ring, and he'd picked out the setting, the stones, and the cut himself.

The engraving had been a challenge, too. He'd wanted it to match the engraving in the class ring as closely as possible, but every place he looked offered choices that ranged from flowery to pretentious. Eventually, he broke down and asked his father where he'd had the class ring engraved so he could take it to the same place, thus cluing his parents in on his plan. They were the only people who knew—he hadn't even told Tucker yet—and it had been a feat to keep them, his dad in particular, from accidentally spoiling the surprise before he'd figured out how to go about giving her the ring. He'd considered a variety of different ways to do it, each more hackneyed and clichéd than the last, and since Sam was anything but conventional, nothing seemed right. Then, the Fright Knight and Prince Aragon went on the rampage, and as soon as Sam gave him the class ring in their usual little ritual, he knew he had his unique and completely _them_ way to propose.

Sam looked from Danny to the ring and back again. "This is an engagement ring?"

He nodded, sliding down onto the floor to sit cross-legged in front of her. "You can't possibly be shocked that I want to marry you, Sam."

"Well, no, but I thought we agreed not until after I finished law school. Or at least not until I know where I'll be _going_ to law school."

"I don't really care where you go to law school. In eight months, we're both getting our bachelor's degrees. I don't want to wait any longer than that. I want to get married after graduation."

"But if I don't get into University of Chicago or Northwestern, I might have to move to New York or California for three years."

"First of all, you got a one-seventy on your LSAT. Chicago's gonna fall all over itself to get you."

"Please." She snorted. "It's good enough to get in, but not good enough to make it a foregone conclusion."

"Whatever. I don't care where you go to law school. I'm going with you. I'm not living away from you for three years, whether we get married or not."

"Danny, be realistic. You can't leave Amity Park."

"Uh… I'm reasonably sure I can. I've even done it before. Gone as far as California, and the chip in my brain never exploded or anything." He rolled his eyes at her.

"Be serious! You know what I mean. You can't _live_ that far from Amity Park. You know you need to be where the ghosts are, and the ghosts are where the Portal is. And your dad is dying for you to start working at FentonWorks. That was the plan. You start working with your folks while you get your chem master's." Although he was double-majoring in both physics and chemistry as an undergrad, he'd decided during his junior year that he'd need to focus more on chemistry in grad school.

He shook his head. "The ghosts will get along fine without me. My folks and Valerie can take care of them. And it's not like there aren't a zillion schools that have masters' programs in chemistry, or that the job at FentonWorks is going anywhere. That's the beauty of going into the family business—the job'll still be here when you've finished law school. Besides, what's the point of marrying an obscenely wealthy heiress if I can't take a couple of years to live the life of the idle rich?"

She arched an eyebrow at him. "_So_ not gonna happen."

He gave a dramatic sigh. "Okay, fine. If you won't be my sugar mama, then I guess I'll just have to stick with the grad school plan."

"Would you please be serious?"

"Sam, I've never been more serious in my life." He took her hands in his, folding her fingers carefully over the ring in her palm. "I have known since I was sixteen that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you. Since I was _fourteen_, if I'm really being honest with myself. Knowing that was the reason it was so hard to just admit I liked you as more than a friend in the first place, because I knew once I did that, it would be forever. That's _seven years_ that we've been slow and cautious and taken our time. By the time we graduate next summer, it'll have been almost _eight years_. My dad and FentonWorks and the ghosts can wait. We've waited long enough."

She gently pulled her hand from his to open it and look at the ring, and he chewed on his lip, feeling nervous again as he tried to get a read on what she was thinking. "Do you like it?"

"Are you kidding?" She looked up at him, her face softening into a smile. "It's beautiful, Danny. Absolutely perfect."

He took it from her palm and held it up to her like an offering. "I love you, Sam Manson. I can't imagine my life without you. And…" He grinned, as sudden inspiration hit him. "And I don't care what's coming next. I just hope that, whatever it is, you're there to share it with me."

She smiled, blinking back tears. "I think I've heard that somewhere before."

"So, whaddaya say? Wanna get married?"

"What do you think?" She leaned forward and, grabbing his face in both her hands, kissed him.

"I'll take that as a yes." He pulled back and slipped the ring onto her finger. "It looks nice on you."

She held out her left hand, admiring the ring. "It really is gorgeous." Then, she narrowed her eyes at him. "But don't think this means I'm giving up my class ring, Ghost Boy. I'll still be wanting that back."


	32. Black and White: Part I

_ **June  
Eight years after the accident  
Age 21** _

It had seemed like a good idea at the time.

The arguments between Sam and her mother over Sam and Danny's wedding had started almost as soon as they'd announced their engagement, and they'd escalated quickly. Having long since resigned herself to the fact that Danny was in her daughter's life to stay, Mrs. Manson was determined to at least have the storybook wedding she dreamed of. Sam, whose favorite storybook tales included graveyards, zombies, and the occasional bat or raven for effect, naturally had other plans. Danny tried to stay out of it for the most part, as did Mr. Manson, but Sam's grandmother took Sam's side, as she usually did, loudly backing up her granddaughter's disdain for white dresses, colorful flowers, and hotel ballrooms with hundred-dollar-a-plate dinners. Danny couldn't help but notice, however, that whenever the topic turned to the ceremony itself, the elder Mrs. Manson would remain uncharacteristically silent. That, coupled with Danny's desire to prove to his future in-laws that he wasn't the source of all evil in their daughter's life, was what had prodded him to do what no sane prospective bridegroom should ever, under any circumstances do—offer an opinion about his own wedding.

"Maybe a traditional wedding wouldn't be such a bad thing," he'd suggested when they were alone in her apartment after she'd had a particularly ugly fight with her mother.

Sam had looked at him like he'd just suggested that maybe Hitler wasn't such a bad guy. "You're kidding, right?"

"Come on, Sam. Jazz and Nick had a traditional wedding, and it was a lot of fun."

She arched her eyebrow at him. "It was a lot of fun because your Aunt Alicia got plastered at the reception, picked a fight with your dad, he overreacted, decided she was being overshadowed by a ghost, and went after her with the Fenton Foamer. Half the guests got covered in ecto-goo—including Nick's mother—your mom and Aunt Alicia's 'roommate' had to pry your dad and aunt off of each other, and the hotel very nearly called the cops. Not exactly what I'd call 'traditional.' Jazz didn't speak to your dad for _weeks_."

"And this is exactly my point. If you're marrying a Fenton, your wedding is bound to be insane, no matter how traditional it is. So would it really be the end of the world if you wore a white dress one day out of your life? Or if we did all the traditional Jewish wedding stuff? It's just one day, Sam."

"Yeah, but it's _our_ one day. Not _hers_."

"I know, but try and look at it from her side. You're her only daughter—her only child at all—and she's already not getting the son-in-law she wants. Would it be so bad to let her have the wedding she wants? We have our whole marriage and the whole rest of our lives to run however we want. Why can't we give her this one day?"

She glared at him. "Do you really want to see me in some Disney Princess monstrosity, and have bridesmaids in matching pink hoop skirts?"

"Sam, I'm a _guy_. You could wear shorts and a tube top and I'd be happy. I just think it would be a nice gesture to your mom to let her only daughter's wedding be nice and normal. Or as normal as possible with the Fentons involved, anyway. And it doesn't have to be a Disney Princess dress just because it's white. 'Traditional' doesn't have to mean poofy. You liked Jazz's wedding dress."

"Yeah, on _her_. Danny, you know I don't do traditional." She held up her left hand. "That's why you didn't get me a diamond ring, remember?"

"You're changing your name," he countered. "Even Jazz kept her name when she got married, but you're changing yours, and I never even asked you to do it. Never in a million years would it have occurred to me that you'd even consider it. If you can do something as traditional as changing your name, which lasts forever, then why is one day such a big deal?"

"I'm not changing my name because it's traditional or because you're the big, strong, man and I'm the lowly wife-slash-chattel. And Jazz didn't keep her name because of some sort of rigid feminist doctrine that all women must keep their names. We actually did it for the same reason—because _this_ family is where we belong. For Jazz, it was a way of embracing the identity she spent the first sixteen years of her life trying to escape. For me, it's acknowledging that for as long as I've known you, your family has been my family, too. Let's face it, I'm way more Fenton than Manson."

He gave her a pointed look. "Your grandmother's a Manson."

"Technically, it was my Granddad Benjamin who was a Manson."

"Yeah, and they had a traditional Jewish wedding. She talks about it all the time—how special it was, and how your grandfather was the love of her life."

"He was the love of her life, but I don't think you could really call their wedding all that traditional. Jewish, yeah, but it was actually bordering on scandalous for the 1950s. Grandma was still single in her late twenties in the era when every girl was supposed to aspire to marry out of high school and become June Cleaver. She and Granddad were beatniks, into women's rights and civil rights, and they had to get married in a park because none of the 'respectable' hotels and country clubs would let their black best man in no matter how much money Great-Granddad Izzy threw around. And Grandma doesn't like the frou-frou garbage any more than I do."

"No, but don't you think it would mean a lot to her if you had a Jewish wedding ceremony?"

She glared at him. "Oh, that's low, Danny. Using my grandmother against me."

"Oh, come on. Jewish weddings are cool, with the little tent-thingy—"

"You mean the _Chuppah_?"

"Right. And breaking the glass, and I could wear one of those little beanies…"

"They're called '_yarmulkes_.'" She rolled her eyes. "And you wonder why I didn't invite you to my Bat Mitzvah."

"You didn't invite me to your Bat Mitzvah because you didn't want me and Tucker to know your family was loaded."

"Well, _yeah_. I was afraid that when you grew up, you'd want to marry me for my money."

"Sam." He shook his head. "You know me. Of _course_ I'm marrying you for your money."

She'd tackled him for that, and the memory of the ensuing wrestling match still brought a smile to his face, but in retrospect, he wished he would've just stayed out of the whole thing and let Sam and her mother work it out for themselves. While Sam's relenting and allowing her mother to plan a traditional wedding had stopped the arguments for a while, as the months had progressed, things had gotten more and more out of control. What had started as a small ceremony and reception in the Mansons' back yard had turned into the Amity Park social event of the season, with well over three hundred guests, a lavish outdoor ceremony and reception at Amity Country Club, and more talk of flowers, photographers, musicians, caterers, and taffeta gowns than Danny would have ever thought possible.

In the final weeks leading up to "The Event," as Danny was starting to think of it, Sam's mother was running her ragged on wedding-related tasks. As the groom, and therefore incidental to the whole proceedings, Danny usually wasn't involved, so he spent most of his time packing and moving their stuff from his parents' house, her parents' house, and her campus apartment in Hammond into the two-story brownstone on which they'd just closed escrow. As he'd predicted, Sam made early decision at the University of Chicago Law School, and all her worries about having to move too far from Amity Park were for naught. They'd talked about renting an apartment somewhere between Chicago and Amity Park so they could split the distance commuting, but then they'd found the brownstone just two blocks away from FentonWorks and decided that with the university well on the south side of Chicago, it was a short enough commute for Sam to make without them having to live outside of Amity Park.

Sunday, one week before The Event, while Sam's mother had Sam and Valerie, the maid of honor, out on yet another wedding errand, Danny roped the rest of the bridal party, which consisted of Tucker, Jazz, Nick, Danielle, and Dash, into helping him move the last of Sam's stuff from her campus apartment. Movers were coming for the furniture on Monday, and the appliance store was delivering their new washer, dryer, and refrigerator on Wednesday, so they only needed to worry about the boxes, which Sam had already packed. With seven of them—Dash had invited his boyfriend along as well—it didn't take long to load up the Fenton RV and head back to Amity Park. There was more stuff than would fit in the RV, but Danny figured a second trip ought to do it. After they finished hauling the first load into the new house, they decided to take a break before heading back to Hammond for the rest.

"Hey, Fen-toady." Dash poked Danny in the back as he followed him out the front door onto the porch. "Didn't you promise us beer for helping you lug all your girlfriend's junk?"

Danny sank wearily down onto the porch steps. "Sure, Dash. It's in the cooler in the Fenton RV. Help yourself." While he was talking, Danielle brushed by them on her way down the steps, and Danny pointed at her. "Not you. You're only nineteen."

"Duh, _Dad_." She made a face at him. "You did put water bottles in there, too, right?" Without waiting for an answer, she climbed into the RV.

"Hey, Dani! Grab me a beer while you're in there, wouldja?" Dash called after her. "And one for Patrick."

The short, wiry brunet beside him shot him a scornful look over wire-rimmed glasses. "What is she, your servant girl? Get your own damn beer."

Danny had to bite back a smile. Patrick Lawrence was as unlikely a match for Dash as he could imagine. A pastry chef at Le Prix Gonflé, he and Dash had met when Jazz had hired him to make her wedding cake. He was doing Danny and Sam's cake as well, and had even been testing out different vegan recipes for the top tier so they could do the whole cake-feeding thing. Because of his small size and his glasses, Patrick looked like exactly the kind of person Dash would have spent most of high school beating up behind the bleachers. Yet, despite the fact that Dash towered over him and probably outweighed him by a good hundred pounds, Patrick never seemed the least bit intimidated. On the contrary, his quick wit and somewhat snarky personality made him more than a match for Dash. Sam had liked him instantly.

Rolling his eyes at Dash, Patrick started down the steps after Dani. "Never mind. I'll help her. Anyone else want anything?"

"I'll take a beer," Tucker said as he sat down beside Danny.

"How 'bout you, Danny?"

"Water's good. I'm driving."

While Dani and Patrick were in the RV getting the drinks, Jazz and Nick came out of the house. As they passed by Danny on their way down the steps, Nick reached down and clapped him on the back. "This is one sweet place you got here, Danny. I'm so jealous that you can afford something this nice right out of college."

"It's Sam, not me. The bank saw the name 'Manson' on the loan application and practically threw themselves at us. It was worse than Tucker trying to get a date in high school."

"Hey!"

Danny shook his head. "I thought they were gonna cry when they found out we were only buying a lowly four-bedroom brownstone and not a mansion out in Polter Heights."

Nick snickered. "I'll bet."

Dani and Patrick emerged from the RV with beers and water bottles, and while they were passing them around, Tucker turned to Danny. "So, you ready for your last week as a free man?"

"I'm ready for this whole mess to be over with, is what I'm ready for." Danny scrubbed his face with his hands. "This wedding is completely out of control, and Sam is a total basket case. Either the stress is gonna kill her, or she'll strangle her mother, and our honeymoon'll be a conjugal visit at the Indiana Women's Prison."

"Well, what'd you expect, dude? You knew she'd hate the whole swanky thing when you talked her into it."

"Yeah, I know. It's just… I guess I thought if we could make her mom happy, everything would turn out fine. But the woman's like one of those energy leeches from Cyber Zombie Four, completely sucking us dry of any life at all. Anytime Sam gives her an inch, she takes a light-year."

"Is it too late to elope?" Tucker asked.

Jazz, who had taken a seat in the open door of the RV with Nick beside her, shot him a look of warning. "You'd better not elope. Mom and Dad will never speak to you again. Although…" She tilted her head as if thinking about it. "Considering what happened at my wedding, maybe that's not a bad idea after all."

"We're not eloping. No way I went through the last eight months just to end up taking off to Vegas or something. Although it is tempting."

Jazz shook her head. "I don't see what the big deal is. Mrs. Manson's a little overenthusiastic, granted, but it really will be a lovely wedding."

"Yeah, but this is Sam we're talking about. She doesn't want lovely. She wants… unique."

"She wants _weird_," Jazz corrected.

Tucker snorted. "Come on. _Dash Baxter_ is standing up in _Danny Fenton's_ wedding. You can't ask for weirder than that."

Dash punched his shoulder from behind. "I can hear you, Foley."

Tucker smirked at him while rubbing his shoulder. "I know."

Jazz, her arms still crossed, gave them all an admonishing look. "I just think she should sit back and enjoy how beautiful everything's gonna be. Even the bridesmaids' dresses are less than hideous. And Sam's dress? It's _gorgeous_! Sleek, elegant, and not a ruffle or bow in sight. I only wish I could've afforded a designer gown like that for my wedding."

Danielle, sitting on the sidewalk in front of the Fenton RV, snickered. "What difference would it have made? It still would've ended up covered in green goo."

Jazz glared at her. "Don't remind me."

"Or me," Patrick added. "What they did to the cake was _tragic_."

Jazz turned back to Danny. "The point is, there's nothing wrong with the dress, but Sam can't stand it just because it's _white_. Instead, she's drooling over this corseted thing with those spidery chiffon sleeves she saw in the window of that creepy goth store the next block over from the bridal shop. And it's _black_! Except for the purple corset, anyway. It's pretty and everything, but for a wedding?"

Patrick took a sip of his beer. "I don't know. I think white bridal gowns are overrated. Why shouldn't a bride wear a little color?"

"Color, fine. But _black_?" Jazz grimaced. "It's for mourning, not celebration. Who wears _black_ to their own wedding?"

"The groom?" Nick offered. It earned him an elbow to the ribs.

"And Sam." Danny leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and his chin in his hands. "I don't know what I was thinking, talking her out of the wedding she wanted. And for what? So her mom could go from barely tolerating me to moderately tolerating me? And now Sam's gonna be miserable and just… not _her_, and it's all my fault."

Patrick reached over to pat him on the back. "Trust me, Danny. I've seen a million weddings, and everyone gets freaked out over them. In another week, it'll be all over, and you'll all have forgotten why it was such a big deal." Stretching, he climbed to his feet. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to use the little boy's room before we head back to Hammond. You wanna point me in the right direction?"

Danny had to think about it a moment. The house was new and somewhat unfamiliar to him, and it still felt strange every time he realized it was _his_. "Uh… there's one off the kitchen on the right."

Danielle leaned back against the side of the RV. "I'm with Patrick. I think it would be cool if she wore a black wedding dress."

Jazz groaned. "She'd look like Winona Ryder in _Beetlejuice_!"

Danielle twisted to look up at her. "So? She always looks like Winona Ryder in _Beetlejuice_. She is a goth, and Danny's a half-ghost—"

"Shh!" Jazz nudged her with her foot. "Patrick's right inside."

"Oh, he can't hear from all the way in the bathroom. And once he and Dash get hitched, we'll end up telling him anyway."

"Uh…" Dash sounded a little leery. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves."

"I'm just saying," Dani continued. "A goth marrying a half-ghost—their wedding should be weird like that."

Danny sat up straight, his eyes widening. "Wait. I _am_ half ghost."

Dash shrugged. "And I'm half German. What's your point?"

"That I've been looking at this whole thing like a human, when I should be looking at it like a _ghost_." He turned to Jazz. "I need you to do me a favor. And Dani, I'll need your help, too."

"My help?"

"Yeah. Unless you know of any other half-ghosts in the wedding party?" He stood up. "Come on. The two of us are gonna take a little trip in the Specter Speeder."

"Danny!" Jazz stood up, too. "What about the rest of the boxes back at Sam's apartment?"

"The boxes can wait. This is more important."


	33. Black and White: Part II

_ **June  
Eight years after the accident  
Age 21** _

Danny was plotting something. Sam wasn't sure what, but for the whole last week before the wedding, he'd had a _look_, like how he'd looked before her sixteenth birthday, when he'd hidden sixteen individual gifts in various places where she would find them throughout the day—and it was astonishing the places a boy with intangibility powers could get into. Or how he'd looked while he'd waited for her to figure out that the ring she'd found in his backpack was an engagement ring.

It helped ease the frustrations of the Wedding from Hell a little, knowing that Danny was plotting some kind of surprise. By the time they made it to the rehearsal on Saturday, she was certain he was going to spring whatever he had planned that night when they were alone after the rehearsal dinner, so when her parents insisted she spend the night at their house to make sure she and Danny didn't see each other from the rehearsal dinner until the wedding Sunday evening, she was mildly annoyed. The annoyance grew to extreme irritation when Valerie agreed to spend the night with her, presumably to act as jail warden to keep her from sneaking off with Danny. To top it off, Jazz and Danielle volunteered to come along as well and make it a whole freaking slumber party.

Sam's mother smiled at the three bridesmaids as they dropped their sleeping bags and suitcases on the floor of Sam's bedroom… well, really her former bedroom now. "Thank you so much for offering to stay with Sam on her last night as a single woman."

Sam groaned. "Mom, I'm nearly twenty-two years old _and _a college graduate. I don't need babysitters."

"Oh, come on, Sam." Valerie grinned at her. "It'll be fun. Girls' night in on your last night of freedom."

"But don't you guys have better things to do?" Sam did her best to make it clear it wasn't a question so much as a strong suggestion.

"Nope."

"Me, neither." Danielle had a broad smile on her face.

Sam tried Jazz. "Come on, Jazz. Don't you have a husband to get home to?"

"He can live without me for one night."

"You girls are wonderful friends," her mother said as she went over to the windows where Sam's wedding gown and four plum-colored, scoop-necked bridesmaids dresses were hanging at intervals from the curtain rod. Sam found it a somewhat eerie sight, like the skins of slaughtered animals displayed as trophies from some sort of ritual hunt.

Valerie followed behind Sam's mother. "We can take it from here, Mrs. Manson."

"Oh, I just want to make sure everything's ready for tomorrow." For what must have been at least the fourteen-hundredth time, she fussed with the skirts on Sam's dress, inspecting for flaws, snags, stains, or creases.

Jazz stepped up behind her. "It looks perfect, Mrs. Manson. And you must have a million things you need to do."

"Yes, of course, but you never can be too careful with white. It stains so easily."

"Which is why another color would've been a better choice," Sam mumbled under her breath. But only loud enough for Danielle, who was standing right beside her, to hear.

Her mother stepped back and admired the gown. "Isn't it beautiful? A little plain, maybe…"

"No, it's gorgeous," Jazz assured her.

Sam sighed. It was a nice dress—if someone else were wearing it. On Sam… well, she looked awful in white. At least it was a simple style, with a scoop halter-style neckline, a plunging back, and a narrow skirt that flared out at the bottom into a train. The veil was simple as well—just one piece that would affix to the back of her head with a comb. Given her mother's taste for ruffles and frills, she could have done much, much worse.

"Oh, Sammykins, you're going to be such a lovely bride." She sniffed. "I'm so glad you gave up on all those weird ideas you had in the beginning, and are going to do a real wedding."

Sam growled at the back of her throat and clenched her fists at her side, but before she could get in a few choice words about "real" weddings, Jazz ran interference. "Uh, okay, Mrs. Manson. Sam's gonna need her beauty rest if she's going to look her best tomorrow." She took the older woman by the arm and started ushering her towards the door.

Valerie had her other arm. "That's right. You just leave everything to us bridesmaids, and we'll make sure Sam gets plenty of sleep before the big day."

"All right. Thank you again, girls." Her mother blinked at Sam, looking like she was trying to hold back tears. "Oh, my little girl…"

Sam gritted her teeth. "Mom…"

Finally, Jazz and Valerie got her out the door. They shut it behind her, then both leaned back against it as if to hold it closed in case she tried to come back in. Valerie twisted the lock on the doorknob, letting out a long sigh. "I thought she'd never leave!"

"Me, neither." Sam instantly headed for the window.

Danielle stepped in front of her. "Whoa. Where do you think you're going?"

"You guys can play slumber party all you want. I am _so_ outta here." She dodged around Dani. "Now, where'd I put that old rope ladder I used to use to sneak out…?"

Dani moved to block her way again, then Jazz and Valerie were at her side, forcibly guiding her away from the window in much the same way they'd guided her mother out of the room. Jazz squeezed her arm. "Oh, no. You can't leave now. You've gotta get ready."

"Get ready? The wedding's not for another eighteen hours. How long do you think it'll take me to get ready?"

They pushed her into her bathroom and down onto the seat by the vanity table, and Valerie held her in place with her hands on Sam's shoulders. "Just fix yourself up how you'd do it if your mom hadn't taken over."

"Why? My mom's just gonna have the salon guy she's got coming out tomorrow put my hair up and do my makeup the way _she_ wants." Sam frowned at her reflection in the mirror.

"That's tomorrow. Tonight, do it how _you_ want."

Sam wrenched herself free and turned around in her seat to look up at Valerie. "What are you up to?"

"Nothing." Valerie flashed her an altogether too-innocent look, but it was Jazz who caught Sam's attention as she pulled out her cell phone and dialed one of her speed-dial numbers.

Sam arched an eyebrow at her. "Jazz?"

Jazz held up a finger at Sam and spoke into the phone. "Hey, sorry we're so late, but Sam's mom was kinda hard to get rid of. We're good to go now, though." She listened to whoever was on the other end, then said, "I know, but what could we do? You know how she is." Another pause. "Okay. We'll take care of it." She folded up her phone and looked at Valerie and Dani. "The Mansons probably turned on their ghost shield."

"I'm on it." Danielle went intangible and phased out through the bedroom door.

Sam narrowed her eyes at Valerie and Jazz. "You two are in on it!"

"In on what?" Valerie asked with that same innocent expression.

"Whatever Danny's plotting. What is it?"

Jazz put her hand on Sam's shoulder. "Just get ready. Danny will be here in a few minutes. He'll explain everything."

"Get ready for what? How can I get ready if I don't know _what for_? I don't even know what to wear."

"Don't worry about what to wear. Just do your hair and makeup. Think formal. Like Valerie said—like you'd be doing it for the wedding if your mom hadn't gotten involved."

"Formal?" Sam's brow furrowed. "Since when does Danny do anything formal? He proposed to me in jeans and a t-shirt while I was wearing a bathrobe."

Jazz grunted. "Just do it, okay? He'll explain when he gets here."

Burning with curiosity, Sam turned back to the mirror. She wasn't sure how to do her hair "formal," because that would depend on what she was wearing, and since they wouldn't tell her what to wear… Sighing, she decided to start with the makeup. Her face was already done up for the rehearsal dinner, but with very light makeup in rather conservative colors. If she were really going to go formal _her_ way and not her mother's… Smiling, she reached into the drawer beside the vanity and pulled out a black bag that was crammed all the way in the back. It contained the makeup she used for clubbing, or goth poetry slams down at the Skulk and Lurk.

Dani returned while she was getting started, having turned off the ghost shield that surrounded the house. A few minutes later, there was a rap on the window, then Danny, in ghost form, poked his head through the wall. "Mind if I crash the party?"

Jazz squealed. "The wedding dress! Close your eyes, Danny, while I cover it up!"

Sam rolled her eyes as she stood up and stepped out of the bathroom. "Okay. Wanna tell me what's going on?"

"Wait a second," Jazz instructed as she finished pulling the drapes over the wedding gown. "Okay, now you can come in.

Danny opened his eyes and phased all the way into the room. He had something slung over her shoulder that looked like a black garment bag, but she couldn't tell for sure because he was keeping it behind his back. "I thought we'd take a little ride. Tucker's waiting—"

"Tucker?" Sam put her hands on her hips. "Tucker's in on this, too?"

"And Nick and Dash. They're waiting in the Specter Speeder."

"I kinda thought that whatever you had planned, we'd be alone."

Danny grinned. "Nope. This is something we can't do alone. But you need to get ready."

"For _what_?" Sam was thoroughly exasperated by this point. _"I don't know what I'm supposed to be getting ready for!"_

Danny's smile only widened as he swung the garment bag off his shoulder. "Jazz? Will you do the honors?"

"My pleasure." Jazz went over to Danny and while he held up the bag, unzipped it and pulled out what was inside.

Sam's eyes widened. "That's the dress I saw at the Black Rose! What are you doing with it?"

"Jazz picked it up for me. She got all your measurements from the bridal shop, so it should be a perfect fit. And there's a little addition of my own." Reaching into the bag once more, he drew out something that looked like black velvet. Handing the bag off to Valerie, he held up the black velvet so Sam could see what it was.

She gasped. "A cloak?" An exquisite cloak, actually, with a voluminous hood that would drape behind the wearer like a veil.

"Do you like it?"

"It's gorgeous, but a little heavy for June."

"Not where we're going." He put the cloak over his arm.

She arched her eyebrow at him. "Okay, spill. Where are we going?"

"The Ghost Zone."

"The Ghost Zone? What on earth would we be doing in the Ghost Zone that would require such formal clothes?"

He smiled at her. "Getting married."

Her jaw dropped. "What?"

"It occurred to me the other day that if ghosts hooked up, like Johnny and Kitty, or Skulker and Ember, or if they had ghost babies, like the Box Ghost and the Lunch Lady—_ew_—then it stands to reason they probably have some sort of marriage or commitment ceremony, too. So I paid a little visit to Frostbite and worked everything out with him. Since my powers are closely related to theirs, and he's the leader of the Far Frozen, he said he would be happy to officiate our wedding ceremony."

Sam blinked. "Have you completely lost your mind? I did not go through the last eight months of hell with my mother—which was your idea, in case you forgot—just to run off and elope."

"Technically, we're not eloping. We'll be back by morning, before anyone even misses us." He stepped closer to her, taking her hand in his. "In a way, you're kinda getting two grooms for the price of one, right? So why not two weddings? Tomorrow will be for them. Tonight, for us." His smile turned into a smirk. "I even made sure we would do this after midnight so the date will be the same for both. If I'm anything like my dad, I'll have trouble enough remembering _one_ anniversary."

"Are you serious?"

"Absolutely. You think you'd like a wedding in a creepy place like the Ghost Zone?"

Sam grinned. "Are you kidding? Gimme that dress and cloak!"

She took the cloak from him and the dress from Jazz and she went into the bathroom to get ready. When she finished, she looked at herself in the mirror. The dress was shaped similar to the one her mother picked, only in black, with a scoop neckline, a skirt that flared out from a low-waisted purple corset that laced up the back, and off-the-shoulder medieval sleeves of sheer black chiffon that draped from her arms down well past the knee. The cloak hung over her shoulders and could either be worn back like a cape, with the hood draping down behind her, or closed, with the hood resting at the crown of her head and falling around her like a veil. It was a mysterious, gothic look that suited her much better than the white wedding dress, and she had to blink to keep from tearing up and smearing the black liner and mascara that rimmed her eyes.

When she came out of the bathroom, she saw that Tucker, Nick, and Dash had joined them as well, all still wearing the suits they'd had on for the rehearsal dinner. Danny, who had been talking to Tucker, turned toward her when she opened the door, his eyes widening and his mouth going a little slack. "Wow. You look… _wow_."

The others chimed in their agreement, and Sam blushed. "Thank you. I… I can't tell you how much I appreciate this. This is… it's perfect."

Jazz stepped forward. "Not quite. A bride has to have a bouquet." She handed Sam an elegant arrangement of dark purple irises with long stems, then kissed her on the cheek. "I'm so glad you're going to be my sister-in-law."

"Thanks, Jazz."

Danny shook his head as if to stop himself from staring at her. "Okay. One more thing before we go." He picked up the garment bag he'd brought, which had been tossed across Sam's bed when she'd gone to change. "Someone else needs the right outfit for the occasion. Dani?"

Dani's eyes widened in surprise. "Me?" She looked down at the black dress she'd worn to the rehearsal dinner. "Why? Is there something wrong with my dress?"

He shook his head. "No, but I've got something a little more appropriate for tonight." He pulled one more outfit out of the garment bag and held it up for her to see.

It was a jumpsuit, similar to his, but not quite. It was clearly cut to fit a woman, and where Danny's was solid black except for the collar, belt, gloves, and boots, this one had more white. A line divided the top diagonally from the right shoulder down to the left hip, with black on the wearer's left and white on the right, and the white DP logo Sam had designed for Danny back in the ninth grade center on the chest in the black portion. A black glove capped the white sleeve, and a white glove capped the back sleeve. The legs were also black, with white trim down the side, ending in white boots.

Dani gasped. "My old jumpsuit?"

Danny shook his head. "No, not your old one. You've grown, what? Two feet since then? But it was modeled after it. If I remembered it right, the only difference is that it doesn't have the short crop-top, which Valerie says is _so_ 2005\. She took a drawing I made from what I could remember of the old jumpsuit along with your measurements from the bridesmaid dress and brought them to a custom costume shop. She told them it was for some geek convention." He grinned. "Since this is a ghost wedding, and you're a ghost, I thought you should wear the uniform."

She looked a little stunned. "I… I can't wear that, Danny. I'm not… I can't go ghost."

"So? I told you when you came to live with us that you were still a halfa, and you are." He held the jumpsuit out to her. "Whaddaya say, Dani Phantom?"

She took it from him, then threw her arms around his neck, burying her face in his shoulder. "Thank you." Then she turned from him and hugged Valerie. "And you, too."

Danny clapped his hands together. "But you'll have to change in the Speeder. We need to get a move on. Everyone ready?"

Jazz shook her head. "Actually, Danny, only Tucker and Danielle are going with you."

Danny frowned. "What? What are you talking about?"

"The four of us talked it over." She motioned to Valerie, Nick, and Dash. "We think it should just be the four of you."

"But… I want you there, Jazz. I want all of you there."

Sam nodded. "That's right. We can't get married—twice—without all of you."

"Yes, you can. You should." Jazz turned from Sam to Danny. "From the beginning, it was always the three of you—you, Sam, and Tucker. They were the ones who were there when you became a ghost; they should be the ones there tonight. And Dani should, too, because she's a ghost, and this is a ghost thing. The rest of us belong at the human wedding, tomorrow."

Danny blinked, looking at Tucker and Dani. Tucker shrugged. "Don't look at me. I didn't know anything about this."

Danielle looked equally confused. "Me, neither. I'm still just trying to wrap my mind around the jumpsuit."

Danny turned back to his sister. "Jazz…"

"Just go. Val and I need to stay here to keep Sam's mom out anyway. We'll tell her Sam's asleep and keep her away until ten o'clock tomorrow morning. That should give you enough time to enjoy your wedding night and still get some sleep for tomorrow."

"Are you sure?"

She smiled, and Valerie, Nick, and Jazz all nodded in agreement. "That's how it should be." Then she reached over and gave her brother a kiss on the cheek.

Feigning embarrassment, he wiped at his face. "Ew."

"Oh, don't be a baby. Go, get married."

He smiled, turning to Sam and holding out his arm. "Shall we?"

She took his arm. "Let's do it."

* * *

Frostbite was waiting for them when they arrived in the Realm of the Far Frozen. After his usual robust greeting—Sam tried not to laugh when he slapped Danny on the back almost hard enough to knock him over—the mammoth snow creature led them through the center of the village to what was known as the Great Hall. When he opened the door and Danny, Sam, Tucker, and Danielle entered the large chamber, they stopped short, and Danny sucked in his breath.

Every ghost they'd ever met—and a good number Sam didn't recognize as well—was gathered in the Hall. Some, like Clockwork and Wulf, were friends. Many others, however—Skulker, Technus, and Ember to name a few—were occasional allies at best, enemies at worst. As if by instinct, Danny took a step forward, putting himself in front of the rest of them, and struck a fighting stance. "I am so not in the mood to fight anyone tonight."

Sam's brain started ticking off things around the room that could be potential weapons, and how long it would take her, or maybe Tucker, to run back to the Specter Speeder for a few Fenton Thermoses. Behind her, Tucker and Dani both tensed, ready for whatever came next. Sam glanced at Danny without taking her eyes off the ghosts. "I don't know, Danny. It could be fun. Kick a little butt, exchange vows… just like the wedding in _Pirates of the Caribbean_." Although how she was going to fight anything in this dress was beyond her.

"Please, Ghost Child." Skulker gave a contemptuous wave of his metal gauntlet as he stepped forward. The hunter ghost often acted as the unofficial spokesperson for the other ghosts whenever they were gathered en masse. "We didn't come here to fight. This is a wedding! A reason to celebrate!"

"Uh… even though you hate my guts?"

Skulker shrugged as if this were completely irrelevant. "A wedding is a solemn rite. Ghosts take them very seriously. Tonight, we toast your nuptials. Tomorrow, there will be time for kicking butt."

Danny, Sam, Tucker, and Danielle all exchanged glances before Danny turned back to the ghosts. "Is this like the Christmas Truce thing?"

"Exactly!" Skulker beamed.

"I'm sorry, Great One." Frostbite gave him what Sam thought was supposed to be a sheepish grin, although it looked a bit fearsome on a nine-foot-tall snow creature. "Perhaps I should have warned you in advance, but whenever there is a wedding in the Ghost Zone, all hostilities are put aside, and all ghosts—well, almost all ghosts—gather together to toast the happy couple."

"Almost all?" Danny scanned the crowd. "Who's missing?"

Skulker crossed his arms in front of his massive chestplate. "Walker. He thinks marrying a human is 'against the rules.'"

"Even though I _am_ half human?"

"You're still one of us. As will be your bride. Walker… disagrees."

Danny shook his head. "I will never understand Ghost culture."

Frostbite put his ice paw down on Danny's shoulder. "Things are rarely as black-and-white as we would like them to be, Danny Phantom. Friends, enemies, good, evil… these all come in many shades of gray."

Ember snorted. "Are we gonna stand around philosophizing all night, or are we gonna have a wedding? 'Cause I've got places to go, people to control…"

Danny turned to Sam. "This isn't exactly what I had in mind, but…?"

"I think it's perfect. Let's get married, Ghost Boy."


	34. Ghost Child

**August  
Twelve years after the accident  
Age 26**

At first, Sam hardly noticed the ghost attacks. They were such a common occurrence in Amity Park, such a part of the regular routine, it didn't occur to her that they were starting to happen a little more frequently and involve more ghosts. Along with the Fentons, Tucker, and Valerie, she was too preoccupied by her grief and the political and legal battles they were waging to put more thought into it than the usual fight-capture-release that they were used to. It wasn't until three weeks later, when nearly every ghost Sam had ever seen began rampaging in the streets, that it began to sink in.

With Danny Phantom gone, it was open season on Amity Park.

The worst part was that, in their own bizarre way, they were doing it _for_ Danny. Jazz had overheard Skulker say as much, that the humans would pay for having removed the one thing that stood between them and chaos. Never mind that the people of Amity Park, who were Danny's biggest supporters, were the ones suffering for it, and an all-out ghost siege wasn't likely to convince anyone, least of all the anti-ecto politicians in Washington, that ghosts weren't all evil.

"We so don't need this right now," Sam complained to Tucker as they dashed down a street along the docks in the industrial part of town. Amity Park's ghost hunters—which now consisted of the two of them, the Fentons, the Grays, Danielle, Jazz, Nick, and Dash—had divided into pairs to cover as much of the town as they could manage, and Sam and Tucker had pulled dock duty. The Box Ghost was busy tearing apart a packing warehouse, Johnny 13 and his Shadow were wreaking havoc in a construction zone, Walker and about a dozen of his Goons had invaded the nearby police precinct and taken over the jail, setting loose the prisoners that were already there and bringing in new ones of their choosing, and Ember was performing a rooftop pop concert that was putting anyone within earshot under her control. Tucker and Sam, each with a pair of Fenton Phones jammed into their ears, were immune from the ghost music's effects, but still were completely outnumbered, not only by the ghosts, but by the humans Ember was controlling.

"Sam, behind you!"

Sam whirled around, spraying another one of Ember's victims with the Fenton Foamer. It packed less punch for humans than the usual ectoplasm weapons and seemed to briefly break Ember's spell on them, but still wasn't enough to actually stop them. The dockworker that had been bearing down on her with a crowbar stopped, looking dazed, giving Sam enough time to duck into an alley, Tucker on her heels.

Sam leaned back against the wall, already exhausted. Not good, seeing as they weren't likely to be getting a break anytime soon. "We've gotta prioritize here. Johnny and Shadow are doing the most damage, and Walker's the biggest all-around threat, but we're never gonna get anywhere if we don't stop Ember from siccing all these humans on us."

"What, you don't think we should take out the Box Ghost first?"

A twinge of cold prickled Sam's gut, giving her goose bumps, as the chubby blue ghost poked his head out through the wall behind them as if on cue. "Beware!"

Sam rolled her eyes, not sure whether she was more annoyed with the Box Ghost for the intrusion, or with herself for letting him of all ghosts give her the chills. "Yeah, there's a threat."

"Hey! I'm right here! I am the—" He stopped short, sucking in a breath and gaping at Sam is if _she_ were the ghost, and then he fled, phasing back through the wall.

Tucker arched an eyebrow. "Well, that was easy."

"Oh, forget about him. We need a plan of attack. Either we pick off one target at a time, or we need to split up."

"I think we're already spread thin enough as it is. I say we go after Ember together, which will take care of the human problem, then we can decide whether Walker or Johnny needs to be next."

She gave a curt nod. "Works for me. Now we just need to get up on the roof."

Tucker glanced at her waist. "Where's your Specter Deflector?" He patted the white and green belt around his own waist.

"I think it was broken, so I ditched it. It kept… I dunno. Not shocking me, exactly, but it felt weird, like I was wearing a live wire wrapped around my waist. It's okay; I've still got the Fenton Phones."

"Yeah, but that only filters out ghost noise. It's not gonna stop her from blasting you. You want mine?"

"Do I look like a damsel in distress to you? I'll be fine. Let's just get up there and stop the music."

They managed to get to a fire escape attached to the warehouse where Ember was playing without incident and climbed up, Sam in the lead. When she reached the roof, she kept low, crouching down along the parapet as she made her way toward Ember, whose back was to them as she played a riff on her guitar from the side of the warehouse overlooking the docks. Sam felt another chill starting in the pit of her stomach and gritted her teeth in irritation. This was no time for a case of nerves. While Tucker covered her with a Fenton Blaster, Sam pulled a Fenton Thermos out of her backpack and took aim.

As if it were part of the show, Ember whirled on her heel and blasted a power chord on her guitar, smirking at them. "Sorry, no backstage passes!"

Although the Fenton Phones filtered out the mind-controlling music, it couldn't stop the sheer physical power from the otherworldly guitar, and Tucker and Sam were rocked backwards. Sam, without the protection of a Specter Deflector, took the harder hit, her back slamming into the parapet behind her, which sent the Thermos flying out of her hand and over the edge, tumbling down to the street below.

Tucker cried out her name and took a shot at Ember, but the ghost pop diva batted away the blast with her guitar, sending him diving for cover. She then jumped on the instrument, riding it the way Valerie did her jet sled, and flew straight towards Sam, who grabbed the Fenton Foamer. She grimaced when she realized she wasn't going to be able to bring it up to bear fast enough, but to her surprise, Ember stopped short, pulling up so quickly that the guitar dropped to the rooftop like a stone, toppling her backwards off of it to land in an ungraceful heap on her back. Propping herself up on her elbows, she gave Sam a startled look. "You're—? I can't attack you!"

"Really? 'Cause I have no problem attacking _you_." A stream of green ecto foam shot out of the Fenton Foamer like water from a fire fighter's hose, knocking Ember backwards off the roof.

Tucker scrambled to Sam's side. "That was weird. Why'd she stop and give you time to aim?"

Sam got to her feet and holstered the Foamer behind her back. "Don't know, don't care. That ecto foam isn't gonna keep her down for long. We gotta get down there before she gets more human zombies to go after us."

They ran back to the fire escape and climbed down as quickly as they could, then headed out of the alley back towards the docks and the direction Sam had sent Ember flying. Sam grimaced as she felt another twinge in her gut, but she soon had bigger worries when Walker, flanked by two of his Goons, appeared in the opening of the alley, trapping them. Tucker fired with his blaster, nailing one of the Goons, while Sam reached behind her, bypassing the Foamer in favor of a more powerful Fenton Phaser. She managed to pick off the other Goon, but then there were three more to replace the two they'd shot, and Walker was still advancing.

"Well, well. The Ghost Boy's bride." Then he stopped, his eyes widening. "What's this?"

Sam fired before he could finish his question, but one of the Goons blocked with his riot shield. Tucker, meanwhile, was hemmed in by the other two. A dangerous look crossed Walker's eyes as he glared at Sam. "Don't mess with me, girl. Not when you're breaking so very many rules." Then he ordered his Goon, "Bring her to me."

Sam backed against the wall, still firing, but the Goon's shield blocked everything as he pressed towards her. She reached behind her back, hoping maybe the Fenton Foamer could get past the shield, but before she could even get her hand around it, something flew in from above, blasting both Walker and his henchman back out of the alley. Sam blinked when she realized who it was. _Ember?_

"What are you doing, Walker? You can't touch her! It's against the rules!"

Walker was on his feet and fighting back. "Not _my_ rules."

Ember hit another power chord on her guitar, which sent a wave of pink energy, bowling Walker over once more, then she turned to Sam. "Get out of here!"

Sam gaped at her. "You do know we're not on the same side, don't you?"

"We are now. Go, before he—" She was cut off by a blast from a Goon's nightstick as six more of them rushed into the alley. Tucker, finally clearing the two Goons he'd been fighting, shot at a couple of them, and Sam started firing as well, but they were outnumbered, even with Ember's inexplicable assistance.

The roar of an engine sounded in the mouth of the alley and suddenly ghosts were being knocked aside as Johnny 13 raced in on his motorcycle. He screeched to a halt between Sam and Ember, looking from the former to the latter. "Is it true? The Box Ghost said—"

Ember cut him off. "Get her out of here! Take her to Skulker!"

Johnny made a grab for Sam, but she managed to twist away from him just enough that he caught hold of her backpack instead. As he started to drag her towards him, she wriggled out of the straps, figuring it was better to lose her weapons than be trapped. He was quicker, however—as soon as she was free of the backpack, he tossed it aside and made another grab for her, this time catching her arm. She cried out in protest, trying to shake him off her as he swung her up onto his motorcycle, but he held fast, gunning the throttle, and then they were sailing up out of the alley.

Below her, Tucker cried out. "SAM!"

He started to take aim, but Johnny yanked the handlebars hard, clearing the beam from Tucker's blaster. She struggled in a vain attempt to free herself, but Johnny clucked his tongue at her. "Hang tight, dollface. It's a long way down if you fall."

Looking down, she realized he was right; they were too high for her to safely get free, so she switched to verbally assaulting her captor instead. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Saving your—look out!" He jerked the bike upwards, hard, as three more Goons sailed past below them. "Man, Walker is wiggin' out! Shadow, defend!" His Shadow separated from him and went after the Goons while Johnny raced off, with Sam clinging behind him.

They flew to the park, where Skulker had set up some sort of command post by the outdoor amphitheater. There was no fighting going on here—apparently there were worse threats around town, and the ghost hunters were spread too thin. Johnny skidded to a stop on the stage beside Skulker, and Sam scrambled off, anxious to be free of the ghost biker.

Skulker looked up, a confused frown crossing the features of his mechanical mask. "What's going on? You're supposed to be down at the docks. And what's the Ghost Child's bride doing here?"

Johnny leaned on his handlebars. "Walker's flipping out. You know how he won't accept the human chick, and now he's attacking her—"

Skulker cut him off with an impatient wave of his hand as he stepped closer to them. "Why is that any concern of ours? I—" And then he stopped and looked at Sam, an odd expression on his face, almost as if he were a predator sniffing his prey. When he got confirmation of whatever it was he was looking for, he straightened. "I see. And Walker's not honoring the code?"

Johnny snorted. "You know how he is, following his own rules. Ember was holding him off down at the docks while I got the gloomy chick out."

Sam looked back and forth between them. "Would one of you like to tell me what the heck is going on?"

Ignoring her, Skulker continued to address Johnny. "This changes everything. I think it's about time we showed Walker we don't live by his 'rules,' don't you?"

Johnny flashed a spiteful grin. "I'm game."

"Then gather all the ghosts, explain the situation. I'll make sure the Ghost Child's bride stays out of the way, since she's clearly too stubborn to do so on her own." He gave Sam a contemptuous scowl.

As Johnny revved his motorcycle and flew off, Sam turned to glare at Skulker, her hands on her hips. "If you think I'm gonna 'stay out of the way' while you attack my town just because you have some cracked idea of ghost relations and toasted me at my wedding, then—"

"This isn't about you! It's about protecting the Ghost Child!"

"You're a little late for that! And you're making it worse! If you wanna do something for Danny, then honor the sacrifice he made by showing the world that they don't have to always be afraid of ghosts! Don't attack his town!"

Skulker looked confused a moment, then rolled his eyes. "No, not _that_ Ghost Child. I'm talking about the baby."

Sam blinked. "What baby?"

He made a contemptuous sound. "Oh, please. You think you can hide it from us? We're not as thick as humans. Ghosts know our own."

"Hide what from you? I have no idea what you're talking about!"

He stared at her a moment, then gave her a derisive smile. "You don't know, do you?" Snorting, he threw up his hands as if she were completely hopeless. "Humans are even thicker than I thought. How can you not know what's happening in your own body? Can you really not sense the life inside you? The life you helped create?"

Sam felt her face go slack as her mind completely blanked for a moment, and then a thousand thoughts rushed in, as if her brain was the Red Sea that had parted for Moses and now the Israelites were across and the waters were crashing back into place. The exhaustion. The nausea. The way smells that never bothered her before had suddenly become intolerable. But… it wasn't possible. Was it? Even putting aside the fact that she was on birth control pills, the timing wasn't right. Hadn't she had her period the week before Danny's…? She had to shake off the memory of that night to keep her mind on track. The last six weeks were such a nightmarish fog, she couldn't think straight. The week in Washington, the crowds, their return home, the train, the Guys in White, Danielle—and yes, she remembered bleeding several days before that last night, and one week _couldn't_ have been enough time. True, it had been lighter and a little earlier than usual, but with everything that was happening, it was only natural for her system to be off. And the rest of it… who wouldn't be exhausted and nauseous after everything she'd been through the last three weeks? The last six weeks, actually, since the day Danny had revealed his secret to the world.

She shook her head, looking up at Skulker. "No, there must be some mistake. And why would you care, anyway? What's one more human life to you?"

"It isn't just a human life. It's one of ours. We're ghosts, not animals. We follow a code—except for Walker, apparently. You and the Ghost Baby will have our protection until such time that it can fight on its own, and then I look forward to having its pelt on my wall."

She tried, somewhat unsuccessfully, to wrap her mind around the absurdity of that statement. "But I can't be—" And then she realized what he'd said. _Ghost_ Baby. "Wait. Are you saying that not only am I pregnant, the baby's a _ghost_?" _The Specter Deflector hadn't felt right, almost like a live wire_… She felt her legs buckle beneath her.

Skulker, rolling his eyes, grabbed her arm and held her upright. "Humans. You—"

He never finished the thought. A ray of pink ectoplasm blasted him back and away from Sam, knocking her off her feet as well. She landed hard on her side on the stage, and then Valerie roared into view on her jet sled. "Sorry, Skulker, but you just missed Human Season. Try hunting ducks."

Skulker jumped to his feet and aimed his arm-mounted bazooka at Valerie, but didn't shoot. "I don't have time for you, Ghost Hunter Girl. Just take the Ghost Child's bride home. She shouldn't be out fighting anything right now." And then he blasted off.

Valerie landed her sled beside Sam and jumped off, kneeling down to help Sam up. "Are you okay? Tucker called and said Johnny 13 grabbed you! I've been looking for you for the past ten minutes."

"I'm—" Sam couldn't finish. Leaning over away from Valerie, she threw up onto the stage.

Valerie jerked her head back in disgust. "Okaaaaay. I guess you're a little under the weather."

Sam wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. "I… I must've gotten some chicken broth in my dinner or something." After more than a dozen years as an Ultra Recyclo-Vegetarian, she couldn't stomach meat products of any kind, and it wasn't unheard of for her to get violently ill after eating a so-called vegetarian dish that had been cooked in chicken broth or lard.

"Chicken broth my ass. I think the past few weeks are finally catching up with you, Sam. Your body's telling you it needs to stop and grieve."

Sam wasn't in the mood to quibble. "Yeah. Maybe you're right."

"Listen. I'm gonna get you home, and you're gonna take it easy, okay? I'd give you a ride on my sled, but you're looking a little too green for that, so I'll walk you home instead. And I'll give Tucker and everyone a call on the way to let them all know you're okay."

"The ghosts—"

"They're bugging out. Most of 'em already headed back to the Ghost Zone, and those that haven't started attacking Walker instead of the humans." Valerie shrugged. "Ghosts."

Under other circumstances, Sam might've laughed. Valerie had said "ghosts" in exactly the same tone Skulker had used to deride humans. As it was, however, she merely put a hand to her abdomen. "Yeah. Ghosts."

* * *

Sam stared at the row of home pregnancy tests on her bathroom counter. There were seven of them—every brand she could find at Elmer's Pharmacy. About an hour after Valerie had brought her home, she'd gone to Elmer's dressed in one of Danny's old bright red Casper High hooded sweatshirts and a blonde wig she'd found in the attic from the "tragic pop divas" Halloween when Danny had played Britney Spears to Tucker's Janet Jackson . The wig was matted and looked fake, but tucked under the hood of the sweatshirt, and with her face scrubbed clean of all makeup, she was sufficiently disguised that she wouldn't be recognized as "Mrs. Phantom" while out buying a home pregnancy test or seven.

And now all seven tests were lined across her bathroom, and each one showed the same results.

Positive.

For several minutes, she stared at the tests. Then she got up, went out into the bedroom, and picked up the phone. It was answered after three rings.

"Tucker? I know it's late, but I need to talk to you. Can you come over?"

* * *

Tucker stared at her across the kitchen table, his mouth hanging half open. "You're what?"

"I'm pregnant."

He blinked. "You're… are you sure?"

She nodded. "I took seven different home pregnancy tests, and they're all positive."

"That'd be a 'yes.' But… how?"

She raised her eyebrows, smirking at him in spite of herself. "Do I need to draw a diagram?"

He groaned. "No, I don't mean _how_. I mean… _how_? Weren't you taking birth control pills?"

She reached into the pocket of her bathrobe and pulled out a small, pink compact. "I found this in my medicine cabinet. It's last month's pack." There were three pills still in it. For the eight years she'd been on birth control, she'd never been so much as an hour late taking her pills, and now she'd completely missed _three_ in a single month and hadn't even realized. "I don't know when I missed taking them, and I was so distracted last month, I didn't even notice until now that there were some left. I just… I opened a new pack on the day I was supposed to start it without even looking at the old pack. If I had to guess, I'd say it was probably when we were in Washington."

"But that was six weeks ago. You didn't notice anything before now?"

"I thought I had another period since then, but it was light and early. I looked it up on the internet after I called you, and that could've been implantation bleeding." She felt numb, like she was reciting to him the text of some law she'd learned before taking the Bar. "That night in Washington, before the press conference. It was our anniversary, remember?"

Tucker blinked again. "You're… you're really pregnant? This… it's a good thing, right?"

The numbness broke, and she laughed, an almost hysterical laugh, as tears filled her eyes. "Well, the timing could be better. I mean, no offense, but I'd always kinda hoped if I got pregnant some day, Danny would be the first person I'd tell, not you." In the time it took for Tucker to absorb this, Sam felt everything crash in on her. "Tucker, what am I going to do? I can't do this alone." She buried her face in her hands, unable to hold back the sudden flow of tears.

Tucker pulled her into his arms and let her sob against his chest while he stroked her hair. "Shh. Sam. It's gonna be okay. You aren't gonna do anything alone, you know that."

"But what if…?"

"No 'what ifs.' Everything's gonna be fine, I promise you." He pulled back, taking her by the shoulders and looking her in the eye. "You're gonna have a baby, Sam. _Danny's_ baby. This is a good thing. Heck, it might even make the bastards feel bad for what they did to him."

Sam closed her eyes and pressed her lips together. "No, it won't. Tucker, that's the other thing that scares me. What do you think they'll do when they find out I'm carrying Danny's baby?"

"I…" And then he understood, and his face hardened into a mask of anger. "No way, Sam. No way they're touching you, or the baby. You got me? No freakin' _way_."

"They'll try, especially when they find out it's half ghost—"

"You don't know that it's half ghost."

"Yes, I do. Tuck, why do you think the ghosts all freaked out tonight? They _knew_. Because they sensed it. Like a Ghost Sense. And apparently they have some sort of injunction against messing with pregnant ghosts, like the Christmas Truce, or the way they all came to our wedding. But they _knew_. That's why I went to get the pregnancy tests in the first place, because Skulker said I was pregnant. With a ghost."

"Just 'cause Skulker says—"

"No, he's right. I know he's right. I couldn't wear the Specter Deflector. And… all night I kept getting this weird cold feeling in my gut. It was tiny, just a prick, but Tuck… I think it was a _Ghost Sense_. The _baby's_ Ghost Sense…"

Tucker leaned back and scrubbed his face with his hand. "Okay. Okay. So let's think this through. Does anybody else know?"

"No. I'll have to tell Danny's family, of course. And mine, too," she added, almost as an afterthought. "Maddie especially needs to know—I might even call her tonight. No. I'll go over there first thing in the morning. If this baby's a ghost, she's the only one who's gonna know how to make sure nothing bad happens during this pregnancy." For not the first time tonight, she had to shut out the thought of what might happen to a fetus with intangibility powers. Danny hadn't been able to control his at first, randomly phasing through things at inopportune moments, and he'd been fourteen years old.

"What about when you went to the drugstore to buy the pregnancy tests? Anyone see you?"

"No. I wore bright clothes and that blonde wig from that Halloween when Danny dressed up as Britney Spears. My own mother wouldn't have recognized me. And I paid cash."

"Okay." He drummed his fingers on the table. "We keep this quiet, then. No one knows but family and our very closest friends."

"That'll work for a little while, but eventually it's gonna be a little hard to hide."

"Yeah, but by then, we'll have worked out a contingency plan for you, to make sure they can't come after you. And you need to make sure you have a doctor who'll be willing to fight to keep your medical records private."

"All medical records are private by law."

He shook his head. "Come on, Sam. You're a lawyer. You know damn well they'll try and subpoena the records. But by the time they even know to try, we'll be ready for 'em."

"It might be sooner than we hope. You know how the tabloids love a good pregnancy rumor." She wrinkled her nose, remembering the tabloid pictures of her and Tucker from that rally last week and the speculation that they were having an affair. "Especially if they can find a reason to question who the father is."

Tucker rolled his eyes at that, then cocked his head. "Actually, that stupid rumor might work in our favor. If there's any reason for them to doubt that it's Danny's—"

"Oh, thanks a lot!"

"I'm not saying we actually play up that angle or anything. Lord knows it wouldn't be good for my career, although they've pretty much backed off since I laughed off the whole thing with that 'confession' about you and I raising that flour sack baby together in ninth grade. But still, any reason for them to doubt that the baby might have ghost powers could be a good thing. We'll cross all those bridges when we come to them, though. For now, it's just you, me, Val, the Fentons, and your parents, if you wanna tell them. No one else needs to know."

"What about Dash? The way he's been sticking like glue to me, I'm surprised he even let me pair up with you instead of him when the ghosts attacked."

Tucker gave her a sad smile. "Danny's folks hired him mostly to protect Danny. I think he feels like he failed him."

"Yeah, I know." Sam tried not to think about the ways _she'd_ failed him. Which reminded her… "What about Danielle?"

"Well, yeah. We'll have to tell her."

"Tuck, she won't even speak to me."

He chewed on his lip. "She'll come around. This'll probably help."

"I don't know."

"Val can tell her, if you want. Then we can just see what happens from there."

She nodded. "Yeah."

Tucker sat back again, looking at her, and his face broke into a sudden smile. "_Geez_, Sam. You're having a _baby_. This is so awesome!"

Sam took a deep breath, then let it out slowly, allowing all the fears and worries out along with it. She was having _Danny's baby_. A part of him was growing inside of her, _right now_. She put her hand on her abdomen, feeling more protective of the life developing there than she'd ever felt of anything.

She'd let them take Danny from her, but they would _not_ get this baby.


	35. The Ghost of Christmas Present: Pt VIII

_ **Washington, D.C.  
December 23, 1:00 am EST** _

A nudge in his ribs jarred Tucker awake, almost knocking him out of his chair. Catching himself just in time, he blinked through bleary eyes, then turned to glare at the source of the offending elbow. "Hey!"

Chris Sanders, a stocky, redheaded freshman representative from Oregon, smirked at him. "I'll bet you sat in the back and slept through class in high school, too."

Tucker shook his head. "Only if I was out late fighting ghosts the night before. Not even Lancer's classes were as boring as tax debates. And they didn't go all night, either."

"Who's Lancer?"

"English and Science teacher. Made that guy from _Ferris Bueller's Day Off_ seem fascinating." Tucker blinked again, then took off his glasses and wiped them off on his tie, which was pulled loose from his neck. Normally he wore his contacts but, anticipating the all-nighter, he'd opted for his glasses this morning instead.

Or, rather, yesterday morning. Tucker slumped down in his chair, exhausted, only to earn himself another elbow in the ribs from Chris. "Hey, come on. We can't let all the old fogies outlast us. We should be able to pull off the all-nighters better than they can." At twenty-eight, Chris had been the youngest member of this Congress until Tucker was elected the previous September. Their youth and similar interests—both sat on the Science and Technology Committee's Technology and Innovation Subcommittee, and Chris was a staunch supporter of ecto-rights—made them instant friends, and they often sat together in the back of the chamber when in session.

Tucker shook his head. "I just wish they'd stop stalling and get on with it already. I am so sick of tax talk, my ears are starting to bleed."

"Well, good news then. The vote'll be in less than half an hour and, if it passes, we're taking a recess to wait for the Senate vote. With any luck, they won't amend it, and then we can move onto flu shots and clean water, and we just might be outta here by breakfast."

"Maybe I can get in a nap during the recess. I wanna be alert during those debates."

Chris gave him a sideways glance. "You still think they're gonna try and sneak something anti-ecto into one of those bills?"

Tucker just arched an eyebrow in response.

Chris sighed. "Not everything is all about ghosts, you know."

"Tell that to Sam Fenton. Or anyone else who lives in Amity Park." Tucker shook his head. "This was supposed to be the anti-ecto crowd's year, especially after Danny Phantom outed himself, 'proving' that ghosts hiding out as humans are a 'threat to national security and the safety of the American people.'"

Chris clucked his tongue. "Didn't exactly work out that way, did it?"

"That's exactly my point. The backlash from what they did to Danny cost them the election, so this is their last shot. Now that they know humans can have ghost powers, they won't be satisfied until they find a way to smoke out anyone who might possibly be 'contaminated.'" Tucker's mouth automatically hardened on the word, and it was difficult for him to bite back the bile it always produced. "And you know they're hoping to find proof that his baby is a ghost 'cause, wow, a newborn baby, now _there's_ a threat." He rolled his eyes. "But since they haven't been able to get a judge to force Sam's doctor to release her medical records, they're trying to cast a broad net instead."

"I don't blame you for being worried about your friend, but the mandatory DNA test bill failed," Chris pointed out. "And that was even with them having the majority. The flu shot bill got tightened up, too, so it'd be impossible for DNA to be collected through the vaccinations. That leaves only the water bill, and I don't see how they could possibly do anything through legislation requiring the removal of impurities from drinking water. And it's a good bill. You need to vote for it."

Tucker grimaced in frustration. Chris was right, of course, and although Tucker had pored over both remaining bills looking for something—_anything_—in them that the Guys in White could use to test people for "ecto-contamination," he'd found nothing. The water bill in particular was causing him some angst, because he did want to vote for it, but he couldn't get rid of the nagging suspicion that it would come back to haunt him if he did. It had been introduced late in the session and was part of the end-of-session crunch, and two of its sponsors were the chief backers of the failed DNA Testing Act. Even more suspicious was the fact that they'd never backed any environmental bills before this one. The whole setup set off all sorts of red flags for Tucker, but no matter how many times he read through the text, or had Sam and a couple of her lawyers look it over for anything he might have missed, he couldn't find any way that cleaning up the drinking water could somehow be used to collect DNA samples from people against their will. There was no one set prescription for cleaning the water—that would be left to the states. It simply set a new standard for water quality.

"I know the water bill looks good," he conceded, "but what about the flu shot bill? The whole thing's been a bad idea from the get-go, even if it can't be used to collect DNA samples from people. Don't you think the Department of Homeland Security is going too far, declaring a 'national emergency' just for the flu?"

"You're just suspicious of everything that comes out of DHS because they're the parent department of the Guys in White."

"Well, _duh_. I mean, look how riddled with loopholes that bill was when they first proposed it. It would have been so easy to surreptitiously collect DNA samples from everyone who was vaccinated."

"True, but note your use of past tense. They closed all the loopholes."

"Yeah, and it only took sending it back to committee _three times_ to do it," Tucker responded dryly. "But even putting that aside, DHS's powers have gotten way too broad. I don't care how bad the flu pandemic was last month, vaccination issues belong at the state level, not federal."

Chris snorted. "Spoken like a former state legislator. This isn't the 1800s, where viruses can be easily contained to one location. The flu pandemic is a _national_ health crisis. And we haven't even hit the height of flu season yet. It's only gonna get worse after the holidays."

"Yeah, but _mandating_ vaccinations, with no opt-out clause? I'm all for vaccinations and education about vaccinations, but this is going too far. And even though they claim that new super-vaccine is non-allergenic, they're rushing it through the FDA approval process way too fast for me to buy it. There just hasn't been enough time for thorough testing."

"And that's where I agree with you. I'm definitely voting no, but not because I think this has anything to do with flushing out ghosts."

"I hope not, 'cause it's looking like both bills are gonna pass. We're all tired and wanna go home and not have to come back the day after Christmas. I think at this point, we'd pass Prohibition again just to go home."

Chris nodded up towards the Speaker's podium. "Speaking of, looks like Madam Speaker's about to call for the vote on the tax code. Wanna bet it passes for that very reason?"

* * *

As Chris predicted, the tax code revisions passed, and the Speaker of the House called a recess to await the Senate's vote. Tucker took that opportunity to duck into a committee room again for another phone call. It took four rings before a somewhat groggy voice answered.

Tucker winced. "Hey. I didn't wake you, did I?"

"Kinda. I was trying to watch you on C-SPAN, but I dozed off."

"Don't feel bad. I dozed off, too. So, no ghosts to hunt tonight?"

There was a snort on the other end of the line. "In D.C.? Please. The place is already too crowded with evil, non-human entities."

He snickered. "You got that right."

"So, any chance of getting back to Amity Park any time this century, or is the current Congress just gonna keep going right up until the next one gets sworn in?"

"Well, we just passed the tax code, and we're waiting to hear from the Senate. Hopefully there won't be any amendments, and then just two more bills and we're outta here. Might even be by breakfast."

"Well, that's good news. I was beginning to think you'd be brown-bagging Christmas Eve dinner on the House floor."

He knew she was joking, but the thought gave him an unexpected pang of melancholy. "This isn't exactly how we planned this Christmas to be, is it, Val?"

She was silent a moment before answering. "No. It would've been..." She trailed off.

Sighing, Tucker brushed away the words she couldn't bring herself to say. "Yeah, well. At least we'll be home in time to spend it with our families. Have you rebooked our flights?"

"Not yet. I was waiting to see whether or not you thought I should shoot for tomorrow—or, actually, it's already today, isn't it? So, we're good to go today, then, instead of Christmas Eve?"

"Should be. Although... there's a chance we might not need to rebook at all. I talked to Sam earlier, and she wants to send her Learjet. I put in a request with the Ethics Committee to see if I can accept, but I don't know if anyone will have time to look at it before we adjourn."

"Oooh, I hope you can get it approved. That'd be _sweet_! But sounds like I should try and find something commercial just in case. It's gonna be tough, though, this close to Christmas. We might have to fly somewhere other than Chicago and rent a car."

"Just so long as we make it back in time for the Christmas Eve vigil. I promised Sam. And Mrs. Fenton really wants us all there for Christmas Eve."

"Somehow, I don't think she's gonna notice if we're there or not once Danielle shows up."

Tucker slapped his forehead. "Hey, that's right! The tax code stuff has my brain so fried, I completely forgot that you managed to convince Dani to finally go home to see the Fentons again. I ever tell you you're a miracle worker, Val?"

She snorted. "Wasn't much of a miracle. She was so upset when we pushed back our flights, I knew she really wanted to go. Although it cost a mint—and a little judicious use of the name of a certain member Congress—to get the airline to transfer my ticket to her."

"Hey, whatever it takes. Did she get off okay?"

"Yeah. I went with her to the airport at six, and her flight left at eight. She would've gotten into O'Hare a little after nine their time."

Tucker frowned. "Hm. I talked to Sam around eleven their time, and she didn't mention Dani."

"Of course not. By the time she would've gotten her luggage and a shuttle to Amity Park, it'd be too late for her to just show up on the Fentons' doorstep. She wanted to surprise them, but not that late. She's staying the night at the townhouse, then she'll go see them in the morning."

"You sure she won't chicken out?"

"I'll call first thing in the morning and make sure she doesn't."

Tucker nodded, even though she couldn't see him. He was glad they could give Mr. and Mrs. Fenton _something_ to celebrate this Christmas, but they weren't the only ones who needed to hear from Danielle. "What about Sam? Is Dani ready to talk to her, too?"

Valerie let out a small breath of air. "I think so. She said she gets why Sam did what she did. It was just… well, you've seen the video. It must've really killed her to be there and not be able to stop it."

Tucker couldn't help but feel a little defensive on behalf of his best friend. "You don't think it killed Sam, too?"

A grunt of annoyance came from Valerie's end of the line. "You know that's not what I meant, Tucker Foley. I saw her that night, same as you. It about killed _all_ of us, but it was worst for the two of them. I think Dani's finally coming to terms with it, though. She just needed some time and some distance. It's been good for her, getting out of Amity Park, but it's time to go back"

"Yep." For some reason, the way she put that brought back the melancholy, and a touch of resentment crept into his voice. "Everyone's moving on."

She was silent for a moment before replying in a gentle voice. "We can't stay walking open wounds forever, Tuck. It doesn't mean we've forgotten, or that we've given up."

"That's not what I meant. I'm talking about us."

Valerie sighed. "This have anything to do with you talking to Sam?"

"Yeah," he admitted. "And she does have a point. He wouldn't have wanted us to stop living. Do you think that's what we did?"

"No, that's not what we did. You know that. It just… it didn't feel right. To either of us." But there was a sadness to her voice that belied her certainty.

"Only, this doesn't feel quite right, either, does it?"

"No, it doesn't." She let out a long breath of air and, even over the phone, Tucker could feel her struggling with her emotions. "It wasn't supposed to be this way. But without Danny, nothing will ever be right."

He chewed on that a moment. "Sam said without him, the center's gone. The team's all still here, fighting the good fight, but…"

"Yeah."

"So what do we do, Val?"

"What we've been doing since that night. Take it day by day and keep believing."


	36. Drabble: A High Price to Pay

_ **November  
Three months after the accident  
Age 14** _

When Tucker first noticed Danny's change of heart toward Valerie, he'd told himself his objections were because of her vendetta against Danny Phantom. That, and his loyalty to Sam, who liked Danny more than she'd admit. In truth, it was more that he still sorta liked Valerie himself, and didn't Danny already have enough? Did he have to get the girl, too?

It stopped mattering the moment Danny took the Ecto-Skeleton to go after the Ghost King. _Your mom used the word "fatal."_

That was the first time he really understood. Those cool powers could someday cost Danny his life.


	37. Thanksgiving: Part I

_ **November  
Eleven years after the accident  
Age 25** _

Tucker hefted his carry-on bag over his shoulder and trudged, weary, off the plane. Having just finished his very first session in Congress—well, more like a quarter of a session, since he was elected only two months ago—he was exhausted and more than ready to get back to Amity Park. Initially, he'd planned on taking a shuttle from the airport, but Danny and Sam had insisted on making the hour-long drive out to O'Hare to pick him up, even though his flight didn't get in until after nine at night. He'd felt guilty at first, but now that he was here, he was thrilled that he wouldn't have to wait for a shuttle. It had been a crazy two months, and he just wanted to get home.

O'Hare was crowded, as usual, but not as bad as it could have been, considering it was only two days until Thanksgiving. It would be much worse tomorrow. He made his way through the terminal towards baggage claim, scanning the crowd for Danny and Sam as soon as he passed the security checkpoint. When he finally saw a familiar face, it wasn't either of the ones he was expecting, and he stopped short, almost dropping his bag.

"Valerie?"

She smiled and waved, as if her being here was the most natural thing in the world. Never mind that he hadn't seen her or even spoken to her since their break-up the night of his victory party. But he knew her well enough to see the tension under the surface.

She was nervous.

"Hey, Tucker," she said brightly as she approached him, apparently giving up on waiting for him to get over his shock and start moving again.

"Val? What are you doing here?"

"Hope you don't mind, but I got Danny to tell me when you were coming in and talked him into letting me come and pick you up instead."

He blinked. "Why?"

"Because I wanted to see you."

"Why?"

The smile disappeared. "Are you really that mad at me?"

He sighed, setting the bag down between his legs. "I'm not mad at you, Valerie. I'm just… I wasn't expecting this."

"Did you think you wouldn't see me once you got back to Amity Park?" She shifted, looking uncomfortable. "We do have the same friends."

"Yeah, I know. I knew I'd see you, but I didn't think it would be tonight, at the airport. You kinda caught me off-guard, here."

She looked down at the floor. "I know I hurt you, Tucker, and I'm really sorry. That's why I wanted to see you first thing, to try and make things right."

He sighed again. "There's nothing _to_ make right. I… I never wanted us to not be friends. I just needed a couple months to…" He shrugged. "You know."

"Yeah." There was a moment of awkward silence while they both sort of shuffled their feet, then she finally looked up at him. "So… how've you been? You like being a member of Congress?"

"Yeah, I think. It was kinda crazy, coming in so late in the session and trying to get up to speed. I think it'll be a little less intense in January when we're all starting from a clean slate instead of me jumping into the middle."

"And you like the committees you're on?"

"Yeah, I do. They put me on the Homeland Security Committee—in Ecto Affairs, of course. And Science and Technology. Loving that."

"I'll bet." She smiled. "Introduce any legislation?"

He snorted. "I was too busy just trying to keep my head above water. But when I go back in January, I'm gonna slam 'em hard. I'm introducing a Ghost Hunter's bill similar to the Indiana Ghost Hunter's Act. I'm talking the whole package—licensing regulations, a prohibition against hunting ghosts who aren't engaged in illegal activities as defined by the same civil codes governing humans, rules pertaining to the capture and release of ghosts into the Ghost Zone, and a ban against holding them in the Human World without extending the same rights as human prisoners."

She raised her eyebrows. "Wow. If you got that passed on a federal level, it would completely gut the Anti-Ecto Control Act."

"Exactly. I've already started working on it, and I'm gonna get Sam to help me draft it while I'm home."

"You think it has a shot?"

"Probably won't get past committee, especially if it gets assigned to the Ecto Affairs Subcommittee, which is the most logical place for it to go. We're in the minority. But pushing on the ecto codes is what I was elected to do. We have a shot at getting a majority after next year's election, and then I think I can get it past committee and heard in the full House. Maybe even get it as far as the president's desk—not that he'd sign. But for now, I'm mostly looking to be the pest they can't get rid of."

Valerie smirked at him. "Oh, I think you'll be great at that."

"Thaaaaaanks."

The smirk faded, and her nervousness returned. "So, uh… what else has been going on? Danny and Sam… they won't tell me what's up with you. They say they don't want to be stuck in the middle, which I guess I understand, but I just… I wanna know how you've been."

"I'm… good."

"You been keeping busy? Making new friends?" She glanced away, trying to appear casual. "I saw your picture online at some fancy dinner or something. Pretty girl you were with."

His stomach took a queasy tumble. He wanted to be able to just slip back into something resembling a comfortable friendship with Valerie, but it wasn't as easy as he would have liked. He'd been too busy in Washington to really feel her absence, but now, with her standing right in front of him, he felt like he'd just ripped a scab off a still-fresh wound. "Let's… let's not go there right now, okay? It's too soon."

Her face fell. "Oh. Okay. So, uh… we should probably go get your luggage, then"

"Yeah, I guess we should."

He picked up his bag and slung it back over his shoulder as they walked in uneasy silence, but before even making it to the escalator down to baggage claim, she stopped short and turned to face him. "This is all wrong. I… I made a huge mistake."

He swallowed. "You don't have to stay, Val. I can catch a shuttle or a cab back to Amity Park. In fact, I think it would be better." The thought of an hour alone in the car with her was more than he could bear at the moment. Tomorrow, when he was rested and he had Danny and Sam there to act as buffers, they could try again.

"What?" She looked stricken. "I... okay, then. If you want me to go, I will, but I have something to say first."

"Val—"

"No. I screwed up, Tucker. I don't mean coming here tonight, though maybe that was a mistake, too. I screwed up two months ago, when I let you walk away. I thought…I don't know what I thought. That if you were in the public eye, everyone would find out about me, and about…" She looked around, remembering they were in the middle of a busy airport. "Well, you know what I'm afraid of everyone finding out. But you were right. It was just an excuse. I… I'm completely tied down to this life because of the choices other people made for me. Vlad, Technus… and you, going off to D.C. right when I was finally hitting my groove in Amity Park."

Tucker let out an exasperated huff of air. "I told you, Valerie. All you had to do was say something. I didn't have to run for Congress. I liked my job at Axion, and being in the state General Assembly. I could've stayed if you'd have just _said_ something."

"Said what? 'Don't do what you really want to do with your life because I have issues'? Come on, Tuck. You were meant to do this. You're gonna change the world through your legislation, and no way am I gonna get in the way of that. I just thought that if we could keep things the way they were, I could have everything I wanted without one more tie holding me down."

He clenched his jaw. "Well, far be it from me to tie you down."

She sighed. "You have every right to be mad—"

"I told you, I'm not mad. I'm just… I don't know what you want from me, Valerie. I don't want things to stay the way they were. For seven years, we did the push and pull thing, and I can't do it anymore. And I don't want to rehash it. What's done is done. Let's just… let's try and get past what we were and figure out how to be friends again, because we both love all the same people and, for them, we have to make this work."

She looked at him a moment, her expression one of acceptance and quiet resolve. "Okay. If that's all you have left, I'll have to live with that, because I'm the one who did this. When you asked me to marry you, all I could think was, that's one more 'forever' in my life. But then you left, and now the forever I'm looking at is forever _without_ you, and I hate it. I… I love you, Tucker. I love you, and I'm sorry. That's all I wanted to say."

She turned and started for the escalator, but before she could step onto it, he called out to her. "Valerie, wait!"

She stopped and faced him, moving aside to let people pass and get on the escalator behind her.

"That girl in the picture you saw? It was a one-time thing. The friend of an aide who went with me because I needed a date. I didn't even care that she was hot. Well, okay, I cared a little," he amended when she arched an eyebrow at him. "But mostly, I'm still hung up on the girl I asked to Senior Prom."

Her face softened into a smile. "I hope you don't mean Jazz, seeing as she's married and just had a baby, like, two weeks ago."

He started walking towards her. "No. I don't mean Jazz."

Then, he was in front of her, drawing her into his arms and into a long, breathless kiss, oblivious to the people around them trying to get on the escalator. She snaked her arms around his neck, pulling herself closer to him in response. When they broke apart, she looked up at him, her eyes searching his. "I don't want to be just friends, Tucker."

"Yeah... I kinda got that. I don't want to be just friends, either."

"Can we... do you think we can try again?"

He nodded, pressing his forehead against hers. "I… yeah. I'd really like that."

This time, she initiated the kiss, and it was a long time before she released him. When she did, there was a mischievous glint in her eye. "You got any plans, say, next Thanksgiving weekend?"

He frowned. "_Next_ Thanksgiving?"

"Yeah. I figure that's a year for me to find out what kinds of options there are for a ghost hunter in D.C. when Congress is in session. Elections will be over by then and, even if the session hasn't ended, they probably won't reconvene until December. Seems like a good time to get married."

He blinked. "Hold up. Did you just propose to me?"

"Yeah. I think I did."

"Five seconds ago, we weren't even together, and now you wanna get engaged? Don't you think that's a little fast?"

She started to respond, but before she could get out a word, he cut her off. "Oh, who am I kidding? I really don't care." And he kissed her again.


	38. Thanksgiving: Part II

_ **November  
Twelve years after the accident  
Age 26** _

Elections were over. Congress was in recess, and wouldn't be reconvening until early December. The only thing left for Tucker to think about was his wedding, but the closer it came, the harder it got.

When he went in for the final fitting on his tux, the tailor looked at him over the top of his notes. "Okay. We have the groom, the father of the bride, the father of the groom…" He frowned, shuffling through his pages. "We're missing the best man."

Tucker closed his eyes, swallowing over the lump that formed instantly in his throat. "Yeah. We are."

The tailor looked confused. "I'm sorry. I don't know how we could have lost one of your orders…"

"No. You didn't lose anything." _I did, four months ago._ "There's no best man. Just women in the bridal party."

"Oh, that's… unusual." The tailor shrugged. "All right, then. I guess we have everything."

_No, _Tucker thought._ We definitely don't._

* * *

"You guys wanna plan my bachelor party?" Tucker looked from Nick to Dash across the booth at the Nasty Burger, his forehead creased in apprehension.

"Why not?"

"A gay man and a guy whose DVD library consists of _Baby Einstein_ and _Thomas the Tank Engine_ are gonna plan a bachelor party?"

"Hey! Just 'cause I have a one-year-old doesn't mean I don't know hot girls when I see them."

"And don't you think a closeted college football player figured out pretty quick how to find all the good strip joints?"

Tucker blinked. "Are you nuts?" He looked at Nick. "When was the last time you had a fantasy about sleeping with your wife that wasn't about _actually sleeping_? And Dash." He shook his head. "I'm a _member of Congress_. I can't be seen getting a lap dance at the Bump and Grind."

"Hey, give me a little credit." Dash looked insulted. "I wasn't gonna take you to a dump like that. I figured we could hire someone to come to you."

Tucker buried his face in his hands. Danny would've planned something perfect. Just a touch of debauchery without being so sleazy as to endanger his public image or get Valerie mad enough to come after him with her plasma rifle. "No. Just… no. I don't need a bachelor party. Really guys, I'm good."

* * *

Tucker sat in the living room of his Amity Park townhouse, surrounded by photo albums. His mom was putting together a slide show—with a little technical help from Valerie's dad—to play at the reception, and she'd sent him home with a stack of family photo albums to select his favorite pictures to use. The baby ones had been easy, but by the time he got to the school years, it got increasingly harder. Nearly every one that wasn't a school portrait or a snapshot from a family vacation had Danny in it. Danny and Tucker at the zoo. Danny and Tucker at Tucker's sixth birthday party, the one with the clown that sent them both running away in terror. Danny and Tucker at the elementary school carnival, sharing a huge bag of cotton candy.

Sam started filtering into the pictures in middle school. Danny, Tucker, and Sam on the first day of eighth grade. Danny, Tucker, and Sam at middle school graduation. Danny, Tucker and Sam in the FentonWorks lab just minutes before the accident that gave Danny his ghost powers. Danny and Tucker huddled together, asleep, on the floor of the zoo observatory—Sam had taken that one. Prom. Graduation. Their college dorm. Danny and Sam's wedding. Nearly every moment of his life from kindergarten on, Danny had been at his side.

Until now.

It left him with more than two decades of memories, and not one that he could put into a slide show on what was supposed to be the happiest day of his life. Tucker scrubbed his face with his hands, trying to figure out what he could use that wouldn't get everyone crying for all the wrong reasons.

An arm slipped around his shoulders as Valerie slid into the seat next to him. "Having trouble finding anything you're not embarrassed to show the world?"

Tucker looked up from his hands and showed her the album. "Having trouble finding something that doesn't hurt too much to show the world."

She nodded slowly, turning a few pages on the album. "You're right. These pictures would set a really melancholy mood, wouldn't they? And yet, not including pictures of Danny would be wrong, too."

"Maybe we shouldn't be doing a slide show."

She was silent a moment. "Maybe we shouldn't be doing a wedding."

His eyes widened as he turned to face her. "What?"

"Don't look at me like that. I'm not trying to get out of anything. I want to marry you. I _will_ marry you. But not like this. I want our wedding to be a joyful celebration. But we've got a 'best girl' who's five months pregnant, with all the hormones that entails, and who's grieving at the same time. We've got a maid of honor who isn't speaking to the best girl and is avoiding her own family, who will all be there. And we've got this huge gaping hole where the best man is supposed to be. This isn't how I pictured my wedding. Is it how you pictured yours?"

Tucker closed his eyes and leaned back against Valerie's arm. "Dreaming about our weddings isn't exactly a guy thing, but if I did think about it, it was always with Danny at my side. The bride might change, depending on who the crush of the week was, but Danny was always there."

That didn't even get him the punch in the shoulder he was expecting. Instead, Valerie tightened her arm around him. "We need to postpone the wedding, Tuck. You know it's the right thing to do."

"It's a week before, Valerie."

"So? Our friends will understand. And the press—"

"I don't give a damn about the press."

"I was just going to say, it'll make a statement."

He opened his eyes and looked at her. "I don't want to make a statement. I'm not gonna play politics with our personal lives."

"I know. I wouldn't even suggest it if I thought you really wanted to go through with it now, without him. But I see how much his absence is affecting you. You wouldn't talk for hours after coming back from the tux shop. You wouldn't let Nick and Dash throw you a bachelor party. And these pictures… it's too much."

He looked down at the pictures, and a sudden fury washed over him. Slamming the album shut, he pushed back from the table and stood up. "Dammit! He was supposed to be here! Why didn't he fight back? Why did he just let them…?" He clenched his fists at his side, unable to finish, then turned away.

Valerie got up and slipped her arms around him from behind. "You know why, baby."

"Yeah. And I don't mean to imply Danielle isn't worth it."

"I know."

He turned to face her. "You really wanna call this thing off?"

"Not call it off. Postpone."

"Until when?"

She gave him a determined look. "Until you've got your best man back."


	39. The Ghost of Christmas Present: Part IX

_ **Amity Park  
December 23, 12:30 am CST** _

After about the fiftieth time of watching the Box Ghost crank the Jack-in-the-box's handle, clapping in delight as the gruesome doll popped up, Sam had not only gotten used to the creepy little toy, she even found herself getting sort of attached to it. She was a goth, after all, with a love for things dark and disturbing, and now that they'd moved out to the living room, it looked even more disturbing in the glow from the Christmas tree, which was the room's only source of light. The eerie music box tune clashed with the Christmas music that was still playing on her stereo, but that was part of the appeal.

The Box Ghost cranked the handle again, and Sam shook her head, trying not to roll her eyes. It was so obviously still important to him—she suspected it had been _his_ favorite more than Box Lunch's—that she felt bad taking it from him. "Are you sure you want to give this to me? I don't want to take a piece of your family history."

He waved his hand at her. "No. I told you, I want the Ghost Baby to have it. It should have a child playing with it, not be sitting on some shelf."

Which is exactly where it would be until he was old enough to not be terrified by the thing, but she couldn't exactly tell the Box Ghost that. "If you're sure…"

"I'm sure." He put the toy down on the mantle of the fireplace and picked up the box and bubble wrap it had been packed in. "I should be going. Places to go, doom to bring… you know how it is." He floated toward the door, presumably to phase through it and go back to the Ghost Zone via the Fenton Portal.

"Hang on. No point in you going back to FentonWorks and getting Jack on your case just so you can get back into the Ghost Zone. Let me open a portal here. Consider it my Christmas gift to you." Sam moved over to where her bag was still leaning up against the couch and pulled out a small gray remote that resembled a garage door opener. Aiming it at the fireplace, she pushed the green button on top. A bright flash of light came from in front of the hearth, and when it died down, a swirling mass of glowing green stood between them and the wall. "There you go. It comes out next to the Fenton Portal, so you should be able to find your way back from there."

Unlike its prototype, which Danny had destroyed years ago, after Johnny 13 stole it and attached it to his motorcycle, this version of the Fenton Porta-Portal not only opened a temporary portal into the Ghost Zone from anywhere in the Human World, it could be pre-set with specific coordinates within the Ghost Zone. This one was programmed to open up right next to the permanent Portal in the Fentons' basement so that if Sam needed to get away quickly, she could cut through the Ghost Zone and have immediate access to FentonWorks and the Specter Speeder. She hoped she'd never need it for anything more than giving the Box Ghost a free trip back to the Ghost Zone, but she kept the small device at her side constantly, just in case.

The Box Ghost looked from the portal to Sam. "You know you are welcome on Christmas Eve, right?"

"Yeah, you already said that."

"Okay. Just making sure." Bobbing up and down in front of the portal, he hesitated.

Sam frowned at his reluctance to leave. "Why? Do you _want_ me there?"

He looked embarrassed, but feigned apathy. "Whatever."

The idea of going into the Ghost Zone without Danny to celebrate Christmas Eve with all the ghosts wasn't exactly appealing. "I don't know if I can. There's a candlelight vigil here in Amity Park that night for Danny. I kinda have to be there."

He nodded, his face sober. "It'll be a strange Christmas Eve."

Sam's eyes widened as a thought occurred to her. "You actually _miss_ him, don't you?"

"No! Well… it's just not the same, is all."

There was the king of all understatements. "No, it isn't." She bit her lip, the hole Danny had left threatening to swallow her. As the Box Ghost turned toward the temporary portal in her fireplace, the need to know something—anything—was suddenly overwhelming, and she called out to him. "Box Ghost, wait!" He stopped and faced her again, and she wasn't even sure what to say. "You… you ghosts say you know your own, and you can sense each other, but how far does that go? Do you… if a ghost…" She took a breath. "Would you know it if a ghost died?"

He looked surprised by the question. "There is no life or death for ghosts. There is only _being_ and _not-being_."

"Well, that's… Shakespearian. But if a _half_-ghost died…"

"Wouldn't that make him a full ghost?"

To the Box Ghost, it was just a statement of fact—the next logical step after life—but Sam closed her eyes at the pain that comment brought. "No. He… he told me he wouldn't… if something happened. Ghosts have to choose to stay attached to this world, right?" She opened her eyes again to see the Box Ghost shrug, looking a little befuddled. He wasn't exactly the most philosophical of ghosts, and she struggled to think of a way to rephrase her concern. "He's… either he's alive, or he's gone. And I… I don't know which it is. They've kept him completely incommunicado the whole time. So I'm asking you. Do the ghosts know? Can you tell if he's still alive? Because I… I can't."

She'd always had this idea that if something happened to him, she'd just _know_. But it had been five months, and there was nothing. Five months, and she was still no closer to getting him back than the day he'd been taken. She'd known then it would be bad, that they would have the authority to do whatever they liked to him, any kind of experiments or torture, but she'd never expected them to so completely block all information and communication for so long. She had no clue where he was or what they had done to him. They wouldn't even confirm that he was still alive, and some days it was harder than others to just believe that she and Tucker and everyone fighting with them would change the laws in time to save him.

The Box Ghost's brow furrowed as he considered her question. "We can sense each other's presence only when we're near." Then his eyes widened and he put up a finger as if a thought had just come to him. "What about the baby? If anyone could sense his _being_, wouldn't it be his own son?"

She shook her head again. "I don't think so. Danny could never sense other half-ghosts, not even Danielle, and with their genetic connection, you'd think if he could sense anyone, it'd be her. But she never set off his Ghost Sense, and neither did Vlad, so I'm thinking the baby probably won't be able to sense other half-ghosts, either. And anyway, there's… nothing." She swallowed over the lump forming in her throat.

"Have you no human technology to find him?"

"Tucker can track his ecto-signature on his PDA, and Jack has his 'booo-merang' that hones in on him, too, but… there's nothing there, either. No trace of his ecto-signature. They must've figured out we could track him after that last time, back in college, and they're blocking it."

Either that, or there was no longer an ecto-signature _to_ block.

She shook that thought away. "I just… it's been _five months_, and we haven't heard a single word. Nothing. Not where they're keeping him, not what they've done… what they're _doing_. Nothing. They've blocked every single attempt we've made to get a writ of habeas corpus and force them to bring him to court, or to even just let us _communicate_ with him. He's not a person, not in the eyes of the law as it stands now. They say it's a matter of 'national security'—_one_ ghost! And they have the right to do anything they want to him, even 'exterminate' him, because he's not really human to them. I… I don't even know if they told him about the baby. Is that really so much to ask? Just to know that he's alive and that he knows about his own son?"

Her voice was cracking, and she'd said much more than she'd ever intended—and to the Box Ghost, of all beings! A little taken aback by the unexpected emotion from her, he just bobbed in the air, looking down at the floor. "I do not understand the rules of your world. But we can't sense him any more than your technology can. If we could, Skulker would've broken him out a long time ago. He's really mad that someone else got _his_ prize."

A wan smile came to Sam's lips. "Yeah, that sounds like Skulker."

"I'm sorry we can't help you more."

She shook her head. "No, it's okay. You've helped enough. More than most humans have. Thank you. And Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas." Clutching his box and bubble wrap, he turned and flew into the portal, disappearing in its swirling green mist.

When he was gone, Sam aimed the Fenton Porta-Portal, and the opening collapsed in on itself, leaving only her fireplace once more. "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" was playing on the stereo, and the somewhat melancholy minor-key tune that was such an ironic contrast to its cheery lyrics did nothing to lighten her spirits. The Jack-in-the-box was still on the mantel, and she went over to it, setting down the Porta-Portal to pick it up. Carrying the toy back over to the couch, she turned the crank, playing _Psycho: the Music Box Edition._ When it got to the climax, the lid popped and the hideous, green, melted face popped out, but instead of either shocking or amusing her, it just made her sad. What would Danny think of such a thing? What would he think of getting a gift from the Box Ghost at all? She tried to imagine his reaction, and found she couldn't. Frowning, she closed the lid and turned the crank again, but when the figure popped out, she still couldn't picture what Danny would think, if he would find it funny, or creepy, or if he'd just roll his eyes. What would he think of such a thing going to his son? What would he think of _having_ a son?

_He's either alive, or he's gone, and I don't know which._

Sam sank down onto the couch, the toy slipping from her grasp as she began to sob, and the hole Danny had left didn't just threaten—it swallowed her whole.


	40. Drabbles: Haunted

_ **September  
Two years after the accident  
Age 16** _

In the still hours of the night, after the euphoria of his brand-new relationship settled, her words replayed in his mind, like a CD stuck on repeat. _I thought you were dead._

What had that been like for her? For his family? For Tucker? When he couldn't find the answers in his own ruminations, he sought them elsewhere, deep in the heart of the Ghost Zone.

"I won't change the past," Clockwork told him flatly.

"I don't want you to change the past. I want you to show it to me. Show me what happened just before the asteroid hit."

* * *

It was hard, watching his loved ones react to the crash they believed had killed him. "Clockwork? What happens when I die?"

"Human philosophers have asked that question for millennia, and you ask me?"

"But I'm already half ghost. If my human half dies, will my ghost half just… continue?"

Clockwork paused before answering. "Ghosts are creatures of attachment. You, like all humans, are a creature of life. Your ghost half will not continue, not without life."

"But I have… attachments."

He was looking at the screen, where a black-haired girl was grieving for the one she thought she'd lost.

* * *

It was a long time before Clockwork spoke. "When a human dies and becomes a ghost, he is not the same as he was. When your life ends, you will not be as you are now. Boxes, music, the hunt… these are attachments that neither grieve nor feel loss." He sighed. "To be 'haunted' is to no longer have what you love, but to never be free of it, either. Is that what you want for her?"

Danny closed his eyes. "No."

"In life, hold fast to what matters most. But when life ends, as all life must, let go."


	41. Coming Out: Part I

_ **June  
Twelve years after the accident  
Age 25** _

No one knew where the rumor started but, like all rumors, by the time it hit the American tabloids just two months shy of the tenth anniversary of the asteroid crisis, it was distorted, full of half-truths and outright lies.

…_anonymous sources confirmed… _

…_members of the "Operation Spirit" Antarctic construction team during the asteroid crisis… _

…_famed ghost "hero" Danny Phantom murdered one of the crewmembers in Antarctica…_

…_took over his body and his life…_

"…_saw him change before my very eyes…"_

"…_threatened to kill us, too, if we told anyone…"_

…_impersonating a human for the past ten years…_

It was so absurd, nearly everyone wrote it off as typical tabloid trash, and those who knew the whole truth hoped to ride it out until it was forgotten in the wake of the next big celebrity drinking binge or rehab stint. But when the legitimate press took up the story, things got a little more worrisome. Nearly two hundred and fifty people from around the world had taken part in Operation Spirit in Antarctica, and most of the ones who the press got around to contacting laughed off the story and said they saw no such thing nor had any reason to believe that Danny Phantom was anything other than what he claimed to be—a ghost who had saved the world.

There were others, however, who simply refused to talk to the press at all. This, in itself, wouldn't have been curious had it not been for the fact that, without exception, the ones who refused to comment were all members of the core group of nearly eighty people who had been manning the control tower north of McMurdo Station at the moment the Earth had been made intangible, allowing the asteroid to pass harmlessly through it. The words "conspiracy theory" and "cover-up" started making their way into the gossip rags and water cooler conversations, but still Danny's friends and family clung with white-knuckled grips to the hope that it would all blow over without his secret being exposed.

That hope died the day Representative Frank Palisade pulled Tucker aside in a hallway of the Cannon House Building on Capitol Hill, where both of their offices were located. "I need to have a word with you in my office, if you have a moment."

Palisade, a senior congressman from Virginia, sat with Tucker on the Ecto Affairs subcommittee. Although not a member of Tucker's party, he was fairly moderate, a key swing voter on ecto issues, and someone for whom Tucker had a great deal of respect. Tucker followed him to his office, and Palisade closed the door.

"You were in Antarctica during the asteroid crisis." It wasn't a question.

Tucker groaned. "Oh, man. If this is about the whole stupid 'Danny Phantom killed someone and took over his body' nonsense, you can stop right there. You could fertilize the entire farm belt with that story."

"It's more complicated than that, Tucker. I'm giving you a heads up as a professional courtesy, and because I respect you as a colleague. The House is forming an investigative committee, of which I'll be a member. Every American who was in Antarctica for Operation Spirit will eventually be called to testify, starting with the people who were on the technical crew. As you were the head of that technical crew, and also happen to be a member of the House, you will almost certainly be the first person called."

Tucker felt the blood drain from his face. "An _investigative committee_? Are you kidding me with this? Frank, this is tabloid gossip. It's like investigating whether Elvis Presley is still alive and moonlighting at a bar in Kenosha."

"It's about a ghost who's being accused of killing and impersonating a human."

"And I know for a fact that he's never done either!"

"Would you testify to that under oath?"

Tucker only hesitated for a nanosecond. "Absolutely." But he knew what a quagmire that would be. It would all come down to the questions they asked. He could easily say that Danny had never killed anyone, nor had he ever _impersonated_ a human, but if the questions got too detailed…

"There's a reason I'm giving you advance warning, Tucker. It's an election year, and this investigation is not going to be pretty. Personally, I think the gossip's at least ninety-nine percent bull. But it's that one percent nugget of truth that concerns me. Even if we say, for the sake of argument, that Phantom never killed or hurt anyone, which I think is probably true, impersonating a human is one of the most serious offenses under the Anti-Ecto Code. If you know anything… if there is any sort of conspiracy to cover up something like that, then you might want to consider making a statement. _Before_ you get subpoenaed. It might be the only thing that saves your career."

Tucker glared at him. "My _career_? We're talking about a _hero_ who saved the whole damn world, which you'd think wouldn't be so hard for people to remember, considering there's a freaking statue of him in every nation's capital, including one on the Mall that you have to trip over to get up the Capitol Building's west steps! Are you seriously telling me that it's either him or my _career_? 'Cause I gotta tell you, I don't need to be a congressman that badly."

"It's not just your career, Tucker. Conspiracy is a serious crime. You might want to come forward with the whole truth sooner rather than later, or it isn't only your career that'll be in jeopardy. You headed the entire project in Antarctica, you're from Amity Park, and you're a ghost fighter. Don't tell me you don't know exactly what Phantom's story is."

"This is a witch hunt, Frank."

"Then think very carefully about whether or not you want to be the one burned at the stake. More than just your career is hanging in the balance."

Tucker clenched his jaw. _Yeah. Like my best friend's _life.

* * *

Danny looked around his parents' living room at the group assembled there. Sam. Tucker. Jazz. Danielle. His parents. Valerie and her dad. Mr. Lancer. Nick. Dash. Patrick. They all wore grave expressions, with the exception of Patrick who, as the default babysitter for Nick and Jazz's seven-month-old whenever the rest of them, including Dash, were out fighting ghosts, now took it upon himself to keep her occupied by making faces at her so the adults could talk. The people in this room were all Danny's family, his dearest friends, his confidants. They were the keepers of his secret.

Until now.

Tucker, who had flown in from Washington with Valerie just hours before, had finished detailing what he knew about the House investigation committee that was being formed to look into the supposed "conspiracy" among those who had been in Antarctica during the asteroid crisis. "I'll be the first one to testify, because they'll wanna clean House, so to speak." He looked at Danny. "So just tell me what you want me to say, and I'll say it."

Danny gaped at him. "What? You can't _lie_ to cover for me, Tuck."

Tucker merely shrugged. "Why not? I've been doing it for nearly twelve years."

Danny shook his head, not sure whether he wanted to hug his oldest and best friend or smack him. "This is a little different than telling my parents I missed curfew because I was studying at your house when we were really out kicking Technus's butt or something. This is an investigative committee of the _U.S. House of Representatives_. Of which you are a _member_. I'm not gonna ask you to lie under oath."

"Dude. You don't have to ask."

Danny let out a huff of air in annoyance. "And if you did lie, then what? You said they're gonna call every American who was there. That includes everyone in this room except for Danielle, Dash, Patrick, and Charley. Even Nick might get called, 'cause he was on base at the time and did have contact with me, even if he wasn't actually a part of Operation Spirit. I can't ask you all to commit perjury for me."

"I told you. You don't have to ask."

"Okay, but what about the other people who were there? People who have no personal connection to me, but kept quiet for ten years anyway? Am I supposed to ask _them_ to lie? 'Thanks for going out on a limb for me and, by the way, you don't mind committing a little perjury, do you? 'Kaythanks.'"

"Danny—"

Danny held up his hand, cutting Tucker off. "No, Tuck. It's over. It's time to come clean, _before_ they start issuing subpoenas. I want you to call a press conference. Tell them Danny Phantom is going to make a statement to put to rest all these stupid rumors about killing someone to take over their identity."

"They'll arrest you," Jazz said, squeezing her hands together in her lap, her face pinched with worry. Nick had his hand on her back, trying to ease some of her tension, but it didn't seem to be helping. "They won't care that you've never hurt anyone and have always used your powers to help people. You're a _ghost_. Worse, you're a ghost/human hybrid, and that's reason enough to lock you away and do who knows what kinds of experiments on you."

"That doesn't mean I can ask seventy-some people, most of them complete strangers, to lie under oath!"

Sam leaned forward in her seat. "We don't have to lie, Danny." Her voice was low and quiet the way it always was when she was afraid for him. "Remember that paper we all signed in Antarctica, promising not to tell anyone who you are? That's conspiracy. We can all refuse to testify under the Fifth Amendment protections against self-incrimination."

Danny's mother gave Sam a determined smile. "Brilliant. That would keep them chasing their tails for a while."

"Works for me," his father said. "No one makes a human lab rat out of _my_ son."

Mr. Lancer nodded in agreement. "You can count me in. It's been a privilege watching you grow from a lazy, unfocused teen into a fine young man, Danny."

"Me, too." Mr. Gray crossed his arms. "Even if you did get my daughter more involved in all this ghost business than I would've liked."

"Daddy! That was my own fault, not Danny's!" Valerie turned from her father to Danny. "And I'm in, too."

He looked around the room at the nods of solidarity from all his family and friends, gratitude and aggravation warring for control. Aggravation won out, and he hissed out another long breath. "I know you all mean well, but this is not the answer! If everyone refuses to testify, that'll only confirm their worst suspicions, that there really is some horrific crime we're covering up."

"But if they can't _prove_ it, they can't do anything to you," Sam said.

"Oh, come on! Somebody out there leaked something, or this rumor wouldn't have started in the first place. No matter what we decide in this room, _someone_ is gonna spill."

"They think the rumor started overseas," Tucker said. "The House committee only has the authority to subpoena Americans. There were forty-two Americans on the technical team, including the nine of us in this room."

"So? That still leaves thirty-three people. We can't seriously expect thirty-three people to stay quiet when questioned under oath. And you can't refuse to testify, either, Tucker. Your career would be over."

"Oh, screw my career. I'm not hanging you out to dry just so I can stay in office."

"And I'm not letting you ruin your life to cover for me."

"I wouldn't have a life to ruin if it weren't for you! None of us would!"

"Tucker's right, Danny," Valerie said. "All of that sorta pales in comparison to what they'd do to you."

"And believe me, it won't be pretty," Nick put in. "Take it from an Air Force brat whose dad served at Area 51. If they send you off to a place like that, you might never come back out."

Jazz shuddered. "We can't let them do that to you, Danny. I think refusing to testify might be our only option."

"But you are all missing the point!" Danny threw his head back in frustration. "Even if every single last one of the forty-two Americans who saw me change in Antarctica took the Fifth, how long do you think it'd take for the government to put the pieces together and see they all point back at me? My so-called disguise is about one step better than Clark Kent's glasses. And even Clark was smart enough not to call Superman by _his own first name_. Let's face it—the only reason we've managed to keep my human identity secret this long is because it never occurred to anyone that there was a human identity _to_ keep secret. But now they _are_ looking for a human identity that Danny Phantom has been living on the sly. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to work back from that to me. I'm surprised they haven't busted down the door already."

His mother shook her head. "If they knew who you were, they wouldn't be wasting time with some investigative committee."

"That's right," Jazz agreed. "If we refuse to testify, they'll be focused on that, which will buy us some time."

"To do what?"

"To come up with a better cover," his dad said.

Sam arched an eyebrow. "Or to go _under_ cover."

Danny sighed. She'd been planning for this for years, he knew. Since the day he'd told her parents who he was and they'd threatened to turn him into the Guys in White to keep him away from her. In response, her grandmother, who'd controlled her trust fund, had turned it over to her so that if anyone did come after Danny, she would have the resources to hide them both, and even Danny's whole family, if it came to that. Her parents never did report him, and it was two months after the fact before Danny learned any of this. While he appreciated all that Sam and even her grandmother had been willing to do for him, he had no interest in living life on the run. Not then, and not now.

"We're not running from this. It'll only make things worse." He turned to his mother. "Think about it, Mom. If we make them work to figure it out, they're gonna dig into our family. Our _whole_ family."

Her eyes widened as she understood what he was getting at. Unfortunately, Dani understood as well, and she jumped up from her seat, her hands on her hips. "Oh, no. No _way_ are you handing yourself over to those bastards just to shield me." She was twenty-three now, had just finished her first year of med school at Northwestern and, like most of the women in his life, was stubborn and protective.

No less stubborn and protective, however, Danny crossed his arms and gave her a pointed look. "Wanna bet? They already know enough to figure out who I am eventually, so I can either come forward now and keep them focused on _just_ me, or I can drag you down with me. I'd say that's pretty much a no-brainer."

"They have no reason to suspect me of anything. Da_ni_ Phantom hasn't existed for almost a decade, and very few people ever knew about her to begin with, so they won't be looking for another half-ghost. And my I.D. will stand up to whatever scrutiny they want to give it. So I say, bring 'em on."

"No."

"So we're supposed to just sit by and watch you give yourself over to them?" Dani shook her head. "No way, _cos_. If they wanna come after you, they're gonna have to go through me."

There was more general agreement, and Danny was starting to consider whether he'd have to start knocking some heads to get some sense into any of them, until he got support from a very unexpected source—Dash Baxter.

"Danny's right, you guys. He's gotta come clean, and the sooner, the better."

Sam glared at him. "Considering you spent seven of the last fourteen years trying to find new and interesting ways to make Danny's life miserable, I'm not so sure you're the most qualified person to judge how best to protect him."

Tucker nodded in agreement. "Word up, Sam."

Dash wasn't about to be intimidated, however, especially not by two of the people he'd spent his entire teen years lording it over. "Hello! I was invited to this pow-wow for a reason. Protecting FentonWorks—_and_ Danny—is kinda what I do. And did it ever occur to you that maybe I know a little something about living a secret life, and when it's time to stop?"

Sam's eyes flashed in anger. "This isn't the same thing, Dash!"

"Isn't it? A closet's a closet, no matter what the reason you're living in it." He turned to Danny. "You're like the closeted celebrity or politician who's about to be outed against his will. Not those guys who are in so deep they're trying to convince _themselves_ they're straight, married and cheating on their wives with anonymous sex in the men's room. You're the guy who knows who he is, but doesn't want anyone else to know. The guy who hasn't done anything wrong—who's done more than a lot right, in fact—but who knows people will hate him just for what he is, so he keeps his private life private. But someone's figured it out, and they're gonna go public. It's no longer _if_ the world finds out—it's _when_. So you have a choice to make. Are you gonna back further into the closet, maybe hide behind a few coats, hoping to put them off just a little longer? Or are you gonna walk out into the daylight on your own terms?"

Danny blinked. "You know, Dash. I think that pretty much sums it up." He smiled at his unlikely friend. "I guess you know from experience."

Dash snorted. "Not exactly. I never had to come out to the whole _world_."

"No, but coming out to a family who wouldn't support you is even harder." He looked around the room again. "I forget how lucky I am sometimes."

"There're more kinds of family than just the one you're born into, Fen-tonio." Dash grinned. "I'm fine with the one I ended up with." He was looking not just at Patrick, who was smiling proudly at him over the top of Charley's head, but at everyone in the room.

Danny gave a nod of understanding, but Sam grunted in irritation. "Not to ruin this touching Lifetime-movie moment, but this is so much more complicated than that. It's more like coming out in _Iran_. It's not just your average idiot bigot on the street you have to worry about, although they're bad enough. The _government itself_ considers you subhuman, with no rights at all. They can imprison you just for being who you are, or kill you on a whim, and it's all perfectly legal."

"I know, Sam, but that's true whether I reveal myself or someone else does it for me. And there's a silver lining here. You know change isn't gonna happen through legislation. Not anytime soon."

"Hey!" Tucker protested.

"It's not you, Tuck. It's the _system_. You're working your butt off in Congress, but until there's a change in the leadership there, everything you submit is gonna die in committee."

"Yeah, but there's a good chance there'll _be_ a change in the leadership after this election."

Valerie nodded in agreement. "It's only a matter of time, Danny. Anti-ecto politicians have been losing points in the polls."

"Well, I can't think of a better way to kill that momentum than letting people think Danny Phantom is hiding something, like, oh, say, _murder_. Can you?"

"It doesn't matter," Valerie began. "Tucker will—"

"Be forced to resign for not testifying!" Danny finished. "Don't you guys get it? We need a _court case_, and we need one soon, before Justice Hartman or Justice Marmel retire and the president can appoint an anti-ecto zealot and shift the balance against us. And a court case needs a plaintiff." He turned back to Sam. "You've been saying it for years."

She shook her head. "I did not mean for you to paint a big target on your chest just so we can file a lawsuit!"

"I know that, but if it's gonna happen anyway, then why not do it right? If I come forward, do everything by the book, and they haul me off anyway, then we've finally got a case. And if we're working both the judicial _and_ legislative branches, with you in the courts and Tucker in Congress, things will finally change. Not just for me, but for Dani. And for Valerie, too, with whatever Technus did to her DNA when he bonded that suit to her. And who knows how many other people we don't even know about who've had their DNA messed with by ghosts and ecto energy. And even for… heck. For the Wisconsin Dairy King."

His dad blinked. "The Wisconsin Dairy King? Isn't that the ghost that used to haunt Vladdy's mansion back in Madison?"

Danny nodded. "That's the one."

Sam crossed her arms and gave him an arch look. "And he's relevant to this situation how?"

"Because he was the first one who ever told me not all ghosts are evil. Ghosts like him, who just wanna be left alone, they don't deserve to get locked away by the government any more than I do. Bottom line—if the Guys in White are gonna get me one way or another, then I'm gonna make damn sure they _only_ get me, and maybe make things a little better for everyone else along the way."

Sam let out a weary breath. "I get that, Danny. I do, but—"

"Well I don't." Danielle was now pacing back and forth in front of the couch. "If they're gonna get you anyway, then leave. Go live in the Ghost Zone."

"I'm with her," Tucker said, crossing his arms.

"No. I'm not running away from a fight."

Dani threw up her arms in exasperation. "But you're talking about _not_ fighting! That's the problem!"

"No, I'm not talking about not fighting. I'm talking about a _different_ kind of fight, and I'm not letting you or anyone else get dragged down into it when I'm the one they want."

"It's not that simple, Danny," Sam said. "The rest of us are already implicated. We've been guilty of conspiracy for ten years."

"They won't care about you guys if they've got me. I can even make it part of the deal, that I'll come forward if they agree to immunity for everyone else who was in Antarctica."

She chewed on this a moment. "You'll need a lawyer."

"You _are_ a lawyer."

She rolled her eyes. "I'm your wife and a 'co-conspirator.' If you really wanna do this, we should bring in Rob Collins, the Human-Ecto Alliance's General Counsel."

Tucker gaped at her. "You aren't seriously gonna let him do this, are you Sam?"

"It's not really my decision to make, Tuck."

"Danny…" His mother was sitting on the edge of her seat, her hands gripping the cushion like it was a flotation device and the only thing keeping her from going under. "Sam's right. I've said from the day I found out what happened to you that who and when you tell needs to be _your_ decision and no one else's. If this is what you want to do, then I support you."

His father reached over and covered his wife's hand with his own. "Me, too, son."

"We're all behind you, Danny," Mr. Lancer said, and there were more nods and murmurs of agreement despite the concern in everyone's eyes.

"But once you tell people," his mom continued, "you can't un-tell them. The stakes are very, very high, sweetie, so just… be very sure this is what you want before you do it."

Danny had to force himself to not glance at Danielle, because he knew it would set her off again, but he couldn't help but think that the stakes were very high, indeed. "It's not what I _want_, Mom. But it's what's _right_."


	42. Coming Out: Part II

_ **June  
Twelve years after the accident  
Age 25** _

"We're good to go for a press conference." Tucker looked less than enthusiastic, even on Danny's computer monitor. He was back in Washington, acting as sort of a deal broker between Danny and the government.

Danny nodded. "Rob worked out everything? Full immunity for everyone who knew?"

"Yeah. You were right; they're not really interested in us once they've got Danny Phantom. The House committee was a little more reluctant, but they figured it was worth it to get you to appear, since they couldn't figure out how to subpoena a ghost."

Sam squeezed closer to Danny so that the micro-camera on his computer could pick her up as well. "What about your seat, Tuck? They're not gonna try and force you to resign or anything over this, are they?"

He snorted. "Depends on who you ask. The real anti-ecto zealots will push for it, but Frank Palisade told me off the record that as long as the so-called 'conspiracy' didn't cover up anything criminal outside of the anti-ecto laws, then it's unlikely anyone but the hard-core crowd will call for any sanctions."

Danny let out a small sigh of relief. "That's good. I really don't want your career to tank because of me."

"My career only took off because of you. And have I mentioned lately that I couldn't care less? I'm only agreeing to any of this at all because it's your call to make. I'm still firmly in the you-should-keep-your-mouth-shut camp."

"Well, it's too late for that now. So, when's the press conference?"

"Friday, here at the Capitol. My press secretary is sending out the press release."

"Friday?" Sam frowned at Tucker on the screen. "You scheduled it for _this_ Friday?"

"Well, yeah. You're an activist, Sam. You know the drill. Friday's the best day to keep the opposition from having time to get in a response before the weekend."

"I know, but…" Sam glanced at Danny, and it was then that he realized why she was balking. She turned back to the screen. "Friday is our anniversary."

Tucker groaned. "Oh, man. I totally forgot. I'm really sorry, guys."

Danny reached over and squeezed her hand. "Maybe it's a good omen."

"Yeah, but I would've liked to have spent our fourth anniversary together before you turn yourself in and they…" She averted her eyes as she trailed off.

"We can still celebrate our anniversary. Technically, it'll start at midnight Thursday night. And that _is_ when our first wedding was."

She looked at him again, giving him an ironic half-smile. "Celebrating the ghost anniversary instead of the human one. That seems somehow fitting."

Danny nodded but, for some reason he couldn't quite pinpoint, her calling it their "ghost anniversary" unsettled him more than he cared to admit.

* * *

It wasn't unusual for Danny and Sam to make love whenever he came back from some particularly difficult battle, but this was the first time he could remember ever having done so before going off to face one. Time was usually of the essence, and their good-byes were brief and often public out of necessity. Now, as he stood looking at the Capitol Building through the window of their tenth-floor hotel room at four in the morning on their fourth wedding anniversary, with only hours left before the press conference, he decided that maybe the usual rush to leave was better. This felt…

It felt like waiting to die.

Not that he wasn't grateful for every single moment he got with Sam. Or even that the sex hadn't been as good. It had been… different. Slower, more deliberate and lingering, like they were afraid to let go of each other because they didn't know when the next time they could touch would be. But a sense of melancholy hung over them, and they were both too preoccupied with what was coming to be fully in the present. Sam in particular seemed more scattered and distracted than he'd ever known her to be.

For Danny, the fact that he wasn't preparing to fight, at least not physically, made it worse, because instead of having battle plans on which to focus, all he could think about was Sam, and how hard it would be on her. It gave him a new respect for Martin Luther King, Jr. and his philosophy of non-violent resistance. Physical battles were _so_ much easier.

A reflection flickered in the window, but he hadn't needed to see it to know Sam was there. She wasn't a ghost, but he could sense her presence in a different sort of way. It brought warmth instead of warning, and he welcomed the interruption as her arms slipped around his waist from behind. Standing on tiptoe so she could rest her chin on his shoulder—a more difficult feat than when they'd first started dating, seeing as he'd gained a good four inches on her since high school—she looked out the window with him. "This is quite the view we've got here."

Downtown Washington, D.C. lay spread out below them, with the Capitol Building directly ahead and the National Mall over to the right. The sky was just starting to turn pink to the east, signaling the approaching new day.

Maybe his last day as a free man.

"It's an interesting city," he agreed.

She grimaced. "'Wretched hive of scum and villainy' comes to mind for me. So. Couldn't sleep, I take it?"

"Not so much. I didn't wake you, did I?"

"Hm-mm. I couldn't sleep, either."

"It's hard, sitting around and waiting to _not_ fight."

"Don't say that. I need you to fight. You're the one who said it was just a different kind of fight."

"I know, but…" He closed his eyes, leaning his head against hers a moment, then he pulled out of her embrace so he could turn and face her properly. "Sam, there's something you need to know."

She gave him a wary look. "No good conversation ever started with those words. You having an affair or something?"

He grinned at that in spite of himself. "Yeah, you got me. I'm having an affair. With Ember. It was the only way I could get her stupid songs out of my head."

She chuckled. "Well, it's been nice knowing you, then. Hope your pelt looks good on Skulker's wall."

"Thaaaaanks." He took a breath, sobering again. "Sam, if anything happens to me—"

"Don't."

"Sam—"

"No, Danny. Just… don't. It feels like you're saying good-bye."

"I'm not trying to say good-bye. I think everything will be okay, I really do. If we pull this off right, then the political pressure might even be enough for them to put me on probation or something instead of throwing me in jail somewhere."

"It isn't jail I'm worried about. It's hidden labs and secret installations."

"I know. I'm just saying, I do think it'll be fine. In the long run."

"Good. Then there's nothing more to talk about."

She turned to walk away, but he grabbed her arm and pulled her back to face him. "Yes, there is, Sam. And I need you to listen."

"Why? Why _now_? Nearly twelve years and ten thousand different battles, and _now_ you wanna talk about 'what if?'"

"Because for nearly twelve years and ten thousand different battles, I've always gone in _fighting_. And yes, I know this is still fighting," he added when she looked like she was about to correct him again. "But this time, I can't punch or blast the problem and make it go away. I just have to trust things will work out, and I do trust that things will work out, but if they don't, there's something I need you to know. If something happens to me, I won't become a ghost."

She blinked, clearly surprised. "What?"

"I… I don't know if you've thought about what would happen to my ghost half when my human half… when I die, but I _have_ thought about it. A lot. And here's the thing. Ghosts—real ghosts, full ghosts—they exist in this world because they're attached to something they won't let go of. When… _if_ something happens to me, I won't stay attached. I'm going to let go."

She looked stricken. "Right. It's not like there's anything here for you to be attached to."

He was taken aback by the bitterness in her voice, and he took her by the shoulders. "Whoa. Where did that come from? You _know_ that's not true!"

"That's what _I_ wanna know—where did all this come from? You _always_ say you'll be back. Always. Even before I ever asked you to promise me, you'd promise me anyway. But now you're talking about something happening to you, and _letting go_." She twisted to break his grip on her arms and backed away. "Dammit, Danny! I don't want you to let go. I want you to _fight_. I want you to come back, like you always say you will!"

"Sam, as long as I'm alive, I will _always_ fight to come back to you. That will never, ever change." Moving closer to her once more, he took her chin in his hand and tilted her face up to his. "Everything I am, every good thing in my life, everything that matters, you're a part of. That's why I won't settle for a shadow of it. After the asteroid, when you all thought I was dead, I started thinking. Maybe, if I could be a ghost, then you'd never have to lose me like you thought you had that day, and I'd never have to lose you, either. But it doesn't work that way. When I lost my powers, my ghost half, you said I wasn't me anymore. Well, that's what will happen if I lose my human side. I won't… I won't be the same. I won't be _me_ anymore, and we wouldn't be _us_. I won't hang onto shadows, Sam, and I… I need you to know that, before I do this. And I need to know that you won't, either. That if something does happen, you won't be looking for me where I won't be."

"I never said I would. It never even occurred to me, because I'm not giving up on you _living_."

"I know. You hang onto everything that matters to you with both fists. I love that about you." He let out a shaky breath. "I love everything about you, Sam. Even the stuff that annoys the crap out of me."

She laughed at this, through the tears that were forming in her eyes, and it felt good to make her smile, even if just a little. He stroked her cheek with the back of his finger, catching a tear that had trickled down her face. "Clockwork told me once, 'In life, hold fast to what matters most. But when life ends, let go.' I promise I'll hold fast in life, and I want you to, too. Believe that you and Tucker will change the world and I'll be back, because I believe it. But be ready to let go. Just in case."

It took her a moment, but eventually she nodded. "But you'd better keep your promise about that 'hold fast in life' part."

He drew her into his arms, holding her tightly as she embraced him in return, her face resting against his shoulder. Laying his cheek against her silky, black hair, he breathed in her scent, and squeezed her tighter, wishing he could hold her forever. "Always."

* * *

Tucker had arranged a private room in the Capitol Building where they could gather before the press conference. Everyone who mattered to Danny was there—everyone who had been at his parents' a few days earlier, and even Tucker's and Sam's parents had flown in from Amity Park. The only one missing was Sam's grandmother, who had died just three months earlier. Danny changed to ghost form, and one by one, his loved ones hugged him and offered words of encouragement as they filed out to go find their seats at the press conference, until it was only he, Tucker, and Sam left. Just like it had been in the beginning. Tucker threw his arms around Danny. "I got your back, dude. No matter what happens."

"I know, Tuck. Thanks."

Then he left, and it was only Danny and Sam. He sighed. "I guess this is it."

She nodded, then took his hand and placed something in it. He didn't have to look to know it was the old University of Wisconsin class ring, but he looked at it anyway, blinking back the memories that it brought with it. "It's been almost exactly ten years since you first gave this to me in Antarctica and made me promise to bring it back."

"And just like then, no matter how this thing ends… this whole ride we've been on together? I wouldn't change it for the world. Not one little bit."

He smiled. "Me, neither."

And like she had ten years ago, she kissed him on the cheek. It wasn't a heart-stopping shock this time but, like then, it wasn't nearly enough to say all that she meant to him, so he pulled her into a proper kiss. When it was over, he leaned his forehead against hers. "Ten years since the first one, and you still take my breath away."

"You sure it's not your Ghost Sense?"

"Pretty sure." He sighed. "Well, are you ready?"

"No."

"Me, neither. But that never stopped us before."

He took her hand, and they walked together towards the door, where the world beyond was waiting for Danny Phantom to come out.


	43. Going Ghost

_ **June/July  
Twelve years after the accident  
Age 25** _

Despite being an activist and lobbyist, Sam hated politics. She hated all the backroom deals and trade-offs, the constant maneuvering when what she really wanted was to just do the right thing. It was ironic, then, that the political maneuvering is what bought them their reprieve. The Guys in White had wanted to haul Danny off to some high-security "containment installation" the second the press conference was over, but the politicians wanted their turn first, and part of the deal they'd all struck with Danny's lawyer before he would agree to turn himself in was that he would testify before the House investigative committee.

So they held him in D.C., using anti-ghost restraints, which Sam also found ironic, since she knew, even if they didn't, that Danny's ice powers could break through them in about ten seconds. Every day for a week, he was brought back to the Capitol Building where he testified at length, telling them about his accident, his powers (though they never did figure out about the ice powers' ability to counteract anti-ghost restraints), the Ghost Zone, and anything else they could think to ask him. It got dicey only when they asked if he knew of any other half-ghosts. He told them about Vlad, and that distracted them for a while, but when they got back around to questioning about the present existence of other half-ghosts, Danny answered, "To my knowledge, there are no other humans who became half-ghosts, or who can change into a ghost form." It was technically true—Dani wasn't a human who had been made half-ghost. She was created half-ghost, half-human to begin with, and she hadn't been able to change into ghost form for nine years.

His coming out even more sharply polarized a nation already divided over ecto-rights, with many hard-liners citing his "deception" as proof that even a ghost who had saved them couldn't be trusted and should be treated as a dangerous criminal, while others flocked to show their support, calling and e-mailing their representatives and senators and demanding that Danny be released.

In the end, it was the politicians' fear of being seen as "too extreme" by either side during an election year that caused them to push the Guys in White, Homeland Security, the attorney general, and the president into striking a deal. Danny would be released on "probation," his left wrist fitted with a cuff, much like the anklets that some prisoners on home arrest would wear. It was a scaled-down version of the Spectral Energy Neutralizer that Vlad had commissioned Skulker to create back when Danny first got his powers. The government had found the plans when they'd seized Vlad's property after he'd tried to blackmail the world during the asteroid crisis, and now they used them to make sure Danny could not go ghost or use his powers. So long as he wore the bracelet, which could track his location, the Guys in White would leave him alone. He could go back to work, even continue ghost fighting, provided that he did so as a human, using man-made weapons. However, if he removed the bracelet, or used his ghost powers for anything, no matter how small, benign, or even "heroic"—one congressman had even said it that way, using air-quotes—then he would be in violation of his probation, and the Guys in White would arrest him and isolate him in one of their secret "containment installations."

One week after the press conference where he revealed himself to the world, Danny was released, and he returned to Amity Park with his family, opting to stay, along with Sam, in his old room at his parents' house until some of the furor died down. That way, he could still work and spend some time training on using the weapons and equipment without his ghost powers.

On their first night back, Danny modeled the bracelet for Sam as the two of them were getting ready for bed. "Pretty stylin', huh?"

She regarded it with her head cocked. "Well, it is black, and kind of has that punk-rock thing going on, so I guess it works for me. But mostly, I'm loving anything that lets you come back home with me."

He gave her a thoughtful look. "You know that they want me to fail this little test, don't you?" Holding his wrist closer to her, he pointed to its lock. "Look at how flimsy this is. One good crack, even with my regular, wimpy, human-strength, and I could break it right off. Which is exactly what they're hoping I'll do."

"So don't give them the satisfaction. Keep your nose clean, fight ghosts with a Fenton Bazooka like us mere mortals, and everything'll be fine."

"That's what I plan on doing." He reached over and touched her face. "Have I ever told you how grateful I am to be back with you?"

She flashed him an inviting smile. "Why just tell me, when you can show me?"

* * *

Within a week, things had calmed down enough that Sam and Danny could return to their own home, and by the end of their second week back in Amity Park, life was even starting to feel normal again. Sam was glad to see that Danny was getting the hang of using the ecto-weapons as a human, although it still frustrated him to have to carry so much stuff on him and to not be able to use defensive measures like shields or intangibility. And more than anything, he hated not being able to fly. Truth be told, Sam hated it, too. Fortunately, Congress had just recessed, and Tucker and Valerie had returned home to campaign for Tucker's re-election. This helped get Danny's mind off of the things he could no longer do, and Sam was grateful for the distraction.

Friday night, two weeks after Danny's release and exactly three weeks after the press conference, Danny and Sam decided to take the long way home after a speech Tucker had given in front the Danny Phantom statue at the Amity Park City Hall. As Danny drove out toward the edge of town, away from the city lights, Sam found herself looking at her green and gold class ring, which Danny had returned to her the day of his release. Seeing it back on her right hand, where it belonged, made her realize that she was feeling something she hadn't felt since the day the first tabloid story about Danny had appeared—hope. She reached over with her other hand and rested it on Danny's leg. "You know what? I think everything's gonna turn out fine."

He gave her a sideways glance. "You keep talking that way, and you're gonna have to turn in your goth credentials."

"No, I mean it. Maybe it was Tucker's speech, or the way the people here are so supportive of you, but I think this is gonna work. You're doing great with the weapons, so it's not like you really need to use your ghost powers, and I finally feel like time is on our side. Tucker's gonna get re-elected by a landslide, the anti-ecto politicians are gonna get voted out all over the country, and we're gonna put the pressure on the president to not veto the Ghost Hunter's Act. And Paulina coming on board is the clincher. If the two of _us_ can work together, anything's possible."

"Yeah, see, that's the kind of thing that makes me think you're being overshadowed. You're not being overshadowed, are you?"

She smiled and leaned over, whispering something in his ear.

His eyes widened, and he gave her another sideways glance. "Okay, you'd better be Sam, 'cause I don't even wanna _think_ about a ghost suggesting _that_ to me."

She laughed, settling back into her seat so he could put his attention back on driving.

"Still…" His tone turned more reflective. "I miss my powers. The flying especially. Man, I miss flying. I'm almost twenty-six, which means I've been a ghost for nearly half my life. _Half my life_. For most of the first half, I dreamed of being an astronaut, of flying in space. But never once in my first fourteen years did I ever imagine flying under my own power. And now? I can't get used to _not_ being able to do it. Or going intangible. I hate having to open stuff, and walk around stuff. It's just… I miss it. And being invisible would sure come in handy with all the crowds and the paparazzi."

She raised her eyebrows at him. "You've come a long way from the guy who wanted to give up his powers and be 'normal.'"

"Yeah, well, after almost twelve years, being able to do all that stuff _is_ normal for me."

"You'll get it all back. You just have to be patient."

"Yeah, I know. And it's worth it, don't get me wrong. Nothing could make me give up being able to live my life, here with you, just so I could have a few stupid powers."

They came to a railroad crossing and pulled to a stop behind a pickup truck just as the crossing gate finished lowering. The train whistle, still a little ways off, and the bells from the warning lights reminded Sam of the time Freakshow, the owner and ringmaster of Circus Gothica, had used his ghost-controlling crystal ball to force Danny and several other ghosts to go on a crime spree. Sam and Tucker had had to jump from a bridge onto a moving train to try and save him. "I swear, to this day, I can't hear a train whistle without thinking of Circus Gothica."

"Mm-hm."

Danny was frowning out the windshield, distracted by something, but Sam kept reminiscing anyway. "I still can't believe I talked Tucker into jumping onto a moving train. It's amazing we survived our teen years at all, with all the stupid things we did."

Danny leaned forward with a start. "You mean, like walking on train tracks with a train coming?"

"What?"

"There's a kid on the tracks," he said, already reaching for his door handle. He scrambled out of the car, and Sam followed.

They weren't the only ones. The driver of the pickup truck jumped out in front of them. "Hey, kid! Get off the tracks!"

Then Sam saw him—a teenager, maybe fifteen or sixteen years old, barely visible in the dark. He was standing on the tracks, waving his arms frantically, as if trying to get the train to stop. She looked at Danny. "Is he _nuts_? That train must be going, like, fifty miles an hour, and it can't be more than a few hundred yards away! No way it can stop that fast!"

A harsh, metallic, grinding sound nearly deafened them, and Sam surmised the engineer had seen the kid and had hit the emergency breaks. Still, he was way too close to stop. Danny was already running towards the track, with Sam close behind, but the guy in the truck got there first. Like a football player making an illegal tackle, he snatched the kid by the shirt and dragged him off the tracks, rolling with him into the dirt moments before the freight train's engine, shooting sparks as it continued braking in vain, hurtled past.

Other people were getting out of the cars that had pulled up behind Danny and Sam, and a small crowd was gathering around the teen and his rescuer, who looked both shaken and angry. "What were you thinking, boy? Trains can't stop on a dime!"

"You don't understand! It _has_ to stop! My friend! He's stuck on the tracks! We were walking on that trestle, about a mile back, and his foot got stuck, and he can't get loose! I was walking back to town to get help when I saw the train coming!"

Sam couldn't help but notice that even braking, the train was still moving awfully fast. She could tell that Danny, who had a bachelor's degree in physics, was doing some quick mental calculations, and from the grim look on his face, the results were not good. Others in the crowd seemed to be coming to the conclusion that the train wasn't going to stop in time, and someone standing near her muttered under his breath, "Oh, _man_. It's gonna go right through him."

_Go right through him._ Sam and Danny turned to each other, and she knew he had the exact same thought she did. Their eyes met and held for just a fraction of a second, but it felt like forever. And then, his expression sober but resolute, he gave her an apologetic smile. "I'm going ghost."

She wanted to scream in protest, to rail against how unfair it was, how it had only been two weeks since they'd gotten their lives back, how he deserved to live, same as anyone else. How could this happen just when she'd dared to _hope_ again? But she knew, even in that fraction of a second it took for those thoughts to fully form, that he would do what he had to do.

And that she wouldn't have it any other way.

Focusing on that, she nodded her consent. "I know."

Before she could even blink, he took his left arm and smashed his wrist, hard, into a nearby telephone pole. As he'd surmised when he'd first shown her the bracelet, it cracked like an eggshell, and he shook it off his wrist, wincing in pain from the blow. There was a bright flash, as the familiar twin rings of light changed him into ghost form, and he shot off into the sky. Wind gusted in his wake, blowing Sam's hair into her face, and she brushed it out of her eyes, watching as he disappeared into the night, headed in the same direction as the train. It would be less than a minute now before the train reached the trestle, but she knew Danny, who could fly upwards of a hundred miles an hour, would get there first.

The reactions from the crowd started to filter into Sam's consciousness over the sound of the screeching metal as the train continued to brake.

_Was that…?_

_I think it was!_

_Think he'll save that kid?_

_Damn straight, he will._

Sam ignored it, keeping her eyes focused on the night sky, waiting for him to come back to her. She didn't even notice that the man from the pickup truck, the one who had pulled the first boy off the tracks, had come over to her until he spoke. "That was Danny Phantom, wasn't it?"

Without moving her gaze from the sky, she nodded.

"And you're his wife, right?"

Now she looked at the man, nodding again. "Yes."

He spotted the broken bracelet on the ground and bent down to pick up the pieces. When he stood up again, he turned them over in his hands. "I watched all those congressional hearings. He's… not supposed to do that, is he?"

"No."

"Will they arrest him?"

Her heart squeezed in her chest. "Probably."

"For saving a kid." A dark look crossed the man's face, and he pressed the broken pieces into her hands. "Listen. He was never here. I didn't see nothin', and I'll make sure no one else here saw nothin', either."

A wave of gratitude washed over Sam, even though she knew it was pointless, and she smiled at him. "Thank you, but it's already too late. The bracelet has a tracking chip. They knew the moment he broke it."

The man processed this. "And he did it anyway."

She nodded once more. "Yeah. That's just who he is."

A cheer rose up from the people around them, and Sam looked up to see Danny flying back with a second teenage boy cradled in his arms. He touched down next to where the first boy was waiting and, as soon as he'd released his charge, the first boy rushed up and threw his arms around his friend. "David, you're okay!"

The cheering grew louder and more enthusiastic, but Danny ignored the crowd, his eyes searching for Sam. As soon as he found her, he pushed past everyone else to get to her. The pickup truck man stepped aside, and Sam dropped the bracelet pieces so Danny could take her hands in his. Their eyes met, his still apologetic, but there was a confidence there, too. He'd done the right thing, the _only _thing he could do.

Feeling sick, scared, and angry, too, but most of all, proud, Sam smiled at him and squeezed his hands in solidarity. Then, as the crowd started to press in, he vanished, turning her invisible with him. The next thing she knew, they were flying, leaving the crowd, the train—which had finally come to a stop with its tail end still blocking the crossing—and even their car far behind.


	44. Goodbye

_ **July  
Twelve years after the accident  
Age 25** _

Sam wasn't sure if Danny had a plan when they flew away from the train and the ever-growing crowd beside the tracks, but as soon as she saw the direction he was headed, she knew exactly where he was taking her: to Tucker and Valerie's. He kept them invisible until they touched down on the front steps of the red-brick townhouse, releasing the power that cloaked them both as he morphed to human form. When he reached out to ring the bell, it hit Sam why Danny had chosen to come here first.

He'd come to say good-bye.

They waited in silence for someone to answer the door, but Sam kept a firm grip on Danny's hand, as if she could keep him with her and stop what was coming by sheer force of will. After a moment, the door opened, and Valerie poked her head out. She was smiling at first, but as soon as she took in their grave expressions, her own turned to alarm. Stepping backwards and opening the door wider to let them in, she looked over her shoulder and called out in a panicked voice. "Tucker!"

* * *

Sam had never seen Tucker sit so completely still. His lips were pressed into thin lines, and when he spoke, it came out as a croak. "Why?"

Danny frowned. "What do you mean, 'why?' I couldn't sit by and let a kid get hit by a train when I could save him!"

"I don't mean that! I'm not an idiot—although that kid obviously is, walking on a train trestle. I'm talking about turning yourself in tomorrow. Why on _earth_ would you do that?"

"Uh… it's not like I have a lot of choice here."

Tucker gaped at him. "Not a lot of choice? Your wife has _more money than God_! The two of you could disappear for a long, long, time. Or you could go into the Ghost Zone. No human could touch you there, and you know Frostbite would let you live in the Far Frozen. That's two choices, right there. Both of them a damn site better than turning yourself in."

"Tucker, you are a _member of Congress_! You did _not_ just tell me go on the lam!"

"Like hell, I didn't! You didn't do anything wrong!"

"Not yet. But if I ran, I would be doing something wrong. C'mon, Tuck, why are we rehashing this? We already had this discussion three weeks ago!"

"Three weeks ago we didn't know for sure what they'd do to you. Now we do. They will haul you away, dude. They said so in plain English. They will haul you away and lock you up someplace very, very bad and very, very secret. Who knows when we'd see you again?"

Danny leaned back in his seat and exhaled loudly, then scrubbed his face with his hand. "You know why I have to do this." He looked to Valerie, who was sitting at Tucker's side. "Val, please explain it to him."

She shook her head. "I don't know, Danny. I know you want things to be better for Danielle. No one understands that better than I do, but do you have to nail yourself to the cross to make it better?"

He grunted in annoyance. "I'm not trying to play martyr here! I was absolutely ready to go about my life with that stupid cuff on my wrist and not use my ghost powers, but turning that kid intangible was the only way to save his life. Full stop. And I wasn't gonna sit by and let him _die_, not if I could prevent it. So I did prevent it, and now I've gotta take the consequences because that's the deal I accepted when they let me go. And if I go back on my word, then all of this, everything we all went through over the past month—everything we've been doing for the past ten _years_—it all means nothing, because I'll have just proven them right."

Tucker looked at him like he was insane. "Man, you got nothin' to prove to anyone! You've saved the world, you've saved the town, you've saved more of us individually than I can count—and I'm a techno-geek, so I can count pretty high. In binary, even. And tonight, you saved a kid's life. But none of that means a damn thing to them, so quit trying to prove something to people who will never, _ever_ listen and just take your toys and go home!"

"I _am_ home! You're asking me to _leave_ my home. _Forever_, Tuck. If I did what you're suggesting, I could never come back."

"You might never come back if you let them take you!"

"I don't think it'll come to that. And they're not the ones I'm trying to prove anything to. I know that's a lost cause. It's the people in the middle. The people who haven't decided. What do you think will happen when this story hits the press? You don't think that'll have an impact on people? That it won't make a difference in the election in November? That it won't make a difference in the courts when Sam sues them for wrongful imprisonment? This is gonna be the eventual nail in the coffin of the Anti-Ecto Control Act. You know it as well as I do. _This_ is the fight now, Tuck, and this is my part in it. Let me do it, then you do your part, and Sam will do hers, and then someday in the not-too-distant future, Dani won't have to live in fear of this happening to her."

"Oh, yeah, you're not playing the martyr, not at all." Tucker threw up his hands. "Sam, would you talk some sense into him, please?"

Sam twitched, startled at being drawn into the argument for the first time. She felt like… well, like a ghost—only partly present and not quite real. She shook her head, holding up her hand, and only with great difficulty found her voice. "Don't, Tuck. I…" She covered her mouth with her hand, unable to say anything more.

Danny took a moment to squeeze her arm, then got up and moved to the couch so he could put his hand on Tucker's shoulder. "Come on, Tuck. I appreciate what you're saying, I do. I know you don't want anything bad to happen to me."

"You got that right."

"But I have to do this. For Dani."

"I get what Dani means to you, okay? But the girl lived on her own in the Ghost Zone when she was _thirteen_. And now she's twenty-three. She can take care of herself. And if you're that worried about her, you could always take her with you. You know she'd go in a heartbeat."

"No way." Danny sighed. "You _don't_ get it, Tuck. She lived in the Ghost Zone on her own _because_ of me. Because I didn't take responsibility for her like I should have. And that's why Vlad was able to _hurt_ her—almost _kill_ her—_three times_ before it finally sunk in that I should've had her stay with me all along. And even then, it was really more my parents than me that figured it out, despite the fact that she's _my_…" He made a strangled noise at the back of his throat, and Sam had to bite her lip to keep herself steady.

Danny closed his eyes and tried again. "She's my responsibility. The most important responsibility I have. I blew it nine years ago, because I was young and stupid and preoccupied with my own stuff. But I won't blow it now. I can't. She's too important to me."

Tears were trickling down Valerie's cheeks as she reached across Tucker to put a hand on Danny's knee. "Danny, she's important to me, too. To all of us. But you're being way too hard on yourself. Everything bad that has ever happened to her is _Vlad's_ fault. No one else's. You've always been there for her, even before you think you have. I was there when you saved her the first time around, remember?"

"No, that was the second time," Tucker corrected. To Danny, he said, "You saved her from Vlad that first time, too. And that was after she helped him _kidnap_ you." He sighed. "Val's right. You've been there for her, from the beginning."

"And I need to be there for her now. To make this world safe for her, so she doesn't have to run to the Ghost Zone, like she did then." He looked at Tucker. "You promised me you'd have my back, Tuck. No matter what. I need you to let me do what I have to do. This… it's hard enough as it is without having to fight you, too."

Tucker hung his head, shaking it slowly back and forth. "Oh, dude, that is _so_ not fair."

"None of this is fair. That's why we have to change it. This is the fight that's in front of us. Please, Tuck." His voice became a hoarse whisper. "Help me."

Once more, Tucker was still, and then he buried his face in his hands, his shoulders bobbing up and down, and Sam realized he was crying. She bit her lip even harder and looked down, fighting to keep her own emotions in check. And when Danny pulled his friend into an embrace, and Valerie threw her arms around both of them, Sam couldn't bring herself to join in. It was going to be a long night, she knew, with many good-byes. And she wasn't ready to say hers.

Not yet.

* * *

They went to Jazz and Nick's next, and it wasn't any easier, although Jazz, at least, didn't try to argue with him. She cried and kissed his cheek, and Nick clasped arms with him and said a few words, and all the while, Sam hung back, still feeling oddly ghost-like and detached. She had to turn away when Danny clung to his eight-month-old niece until she got restless and cried to be set free.

It wasn't quite so bad at Dash and Patrick's. Dash mostly tried to lighten the mood with his usual smart-aleck jabs, and Danny rebuffed his repeated offers to stay over at his and Sam's to play bodyguard, "just in case the jack-booted thugs don't wait until morning for you to turn yourself in." Before they left, they saw on the television that the story had hit the ten o'clock news, and Danny called his parents to tell them he was okay and that they were on their way over.

Perhaps it was because they'd received that little bit of advance warning before Danny and Sam showed up on their doorstep with the news, but Sam was surprised at how well the Fentons were coping. His mother teared up when she hugged him, telling him how much she loved him and how proud of him she was. His father looked misty and, like Dash, tried to crack jokes, but he embraced his son for a long time, until Sam thought he would smother him.

It was Danielle who surprised her the most. Danielle, who last month had argued as long and hard as Tucker had against Danny revealing his identity and turning himself in, now said very little. She seemed resigned to his decision—until she pulled Sam from the living room into the kitchen while Danny was distracted talking to his parents.

"You aren't going to let him do this, are you?"

Sam sighed, not wanting to discuss it with her any more than she had with Tucker. "It's his decision, Dani. I can't tell him what to do."

"You're his _wife_. It's your _job_ to tell him what to do!"

"That's not true and you know it. I can't stop him—"

"_I_ can."

Sam frowned. "What?"

"I'm not gonna sit by and watch him do this, especially not for some misguided notion that it's helping _me_. I'll fight him if I have to, when he goes to turn himself in."

"Fight him?" Sam gaped at her. "You can't be serious! You aren't powerful enough to fight him!"

"I haven't used my powers in months. You'd be surprised at how powerful I can be when I'm well-rested."

"Not enough to beat _Danny_!"

"I won't have to beat him. I just have to be strong enough to get him into the Ghost Zone with this." Dani put her hand in her pocket, then produced a small, gray box that looked a little like a garage door remote.

Sam's eyes widened. "The Fenton Porta-Portal? What are you gonna do with that? Open a portal and _force_ Danny into it?"

Danielle arched an eyebrow in response, and Sam groaned. "Oh, come on! I don't care how well-rested you are. You're not strong enough to force Danny to do anything."

"But I could be… with a little help from you. All you have to do is put that on him." She pointed to the kitchen counter where a chunky, white belt lay next to the toaster.

"A Specter Deflector?" She blinked, dumbfounded. "You want me to put a _Specter Deflector_ on him? It'll shock him!"

"It'll sting, but it won't really hurt him. What it _will_ do is keep him in human form and suppress his powers enough for me to do the rest."

Sam put her hand to her forehead. "This is insane, Dani. Even if it worked, once we got him into the Ghost Zone, what then? We can't keep him _prisoner_."

"We won't have to. He'll agree to stay."

"Why would he do that? He's made it perfectly clear how he feels about running off to the Ghost Zone."

"There won't be any reason for him to come back here, that's why. Think about it, Sam. If I fight him while he's turning himself in—"

Sam's jaw dropped as she realized what Dani was saying. "You'll reveal yourself! The Guys in White will know you have ghost powers!"

"Exactly. And then he can't use protecting me as an excuse. He'll _have_ to go into hiding. We both will."

"This…" Sam shook her head. "You can't do this, Dani. It'll kill him."

"No, Sam. It'll _save_ him. Don't you want to save him?"

"How can you even ask me that? But at what cost?"

"There is _no_ cost too high! Dammit, Sam! This is _Danny_! There is no one more important to me, and I know there's no one more important to you, either. If we can save him, then we should do it."

"Do you know what you're asking me to do, Dani? Do you realize what it will do to him?"

"Does it really matter if he's still with us? Is there anything in this world you want more than to still have him with us?"

Sam closed her eyes. "No."

"Then help me. Help me save him."

* * *

They were silent during the short trip home from FentonWorks. When they got in the house, Danny closed and locked the door behind them, flipped on the security system, making sure the ghost sensors, door alarm, and security cam were all operating, then leaned against the doorjamb as if exhausted. "That was… not fun."

"No."

"I didn't expect Tucker to take it so hard. Or Dani to take it so well, for that matter. What'd she say to you when you guys were in the kitchen?"

Sam swallowed. "Nothing."

"Nothing? You were talking a long time. She's not plotting anything, is she? I wouldn't put it past her."

She hesitated a moment before answering. "No. She understands."

It felt like swallowing ground glass, lying to him. She was a good liar—she'd been lying _for_ him for almost twelve years—but never in the entire time that she'd known him had she ever outright lied _to_ him. The closest she'd ever come were a few lies of omission—the fact that her family was wealthy, or those two years she didn't tell him how she felt about him. But that wasn't an outright deception or betrayal of his trust, not like this, and it made her feel a little sick.

But because she never lied to him, he accepted her answer without question. "Good. You'll… you'll look out for her, right?"

It felt like she was dying inside. "Valerie…"

"I know Valerie will, but I want you to, too. You all need to stick together."

She nodded.

He watched her a moment, a whole jumble of emotions crossing his features. "You okay?"

Incredulous, she arched her eyebrow at him.

He winced. "Yeah, I know. Standard question. I just… You're so quiet. It's not like you."

"What do you want me to say?"

"I don't know. Be mad. Yell at me. Something. _Anything_."

"Yell at you? For what? Saving a kid's life? That was a _good_ thing, Danny."

"But what I said, before, in the car. About how nothing could make me give up being with you…" His eyes flicked down before meeting hers once more. "You know this wasn't about me choosing something else over you, don't you?"

She nodded. "I know."

"Okay, so then why are you walling yourself off like this? I thought fighting with Tucker was bad, but—"

"Well, maybe Tucker wasn't wrong."

He stopped, blinking at her in surprise. "Sam…"

She took a step towards him, her resolve crumbling. "Danny, do you have any idea how much money is in that Swiss bank account? And since the Swiss don't have any anti-ecto laws, the U.S. government can't freeze it. It's not just my trust fund, either, although that's enough. The money my grandmother left me when she died, that's all in there, too. We could live comfortably a very, very long time off just the interest. You, me, and Dani. Your whole family, if they want. Tucker and Val, even. Anyone who wants to get away from this nightmare. There are a million places the U.S. government has no jurisdiction, no extradition treaties. And many of them are very ghost-friendly."

"You can't be serious."

"I'm dead serious. You always said you wanted to try living like the idle rich. Well, this is your chance."

"Sam, since when have you ever used money to buy away your problems and run away from a fight? This isn't you!"

"This… dammit, Danny! Tomorrow, you're going to—" She stopped, suddenly finding it difficult to breathe. And then the dam broke, and everything she'd been holding back all night burst through in a torrent. "You're going to walk out of my life tomorrow, and I can't… I can't lose you."

He was there in an instant, his arms wrapping around her as he held her tightly and let her sob into his shoulder. For a long time, he was silent, just holding her as she cried, and then, when he did speak, his voice was ragged. "I don't wanna go, Sam. I don't want to leave you. Not ever."

"Then _don't_."

"I have to. You know I have to. Everything you've been fighting for the last ten years, everything we've ever believed was right—it'll all be wasted if I run from this. I have to do what's right."

She squeezed her eyes shut and pressed closer to him. "Why do you have to be so damn noble?"

He chuckled at this, a sort of sad, ironic laugh, and she could feel it rumbling through his chest. "I learned it from _you_."

"I'm not noble." She thought of Danielle, and how she'd lied to him about her.

"You always do what's right, even when it's hard. That's what you taught me." He pulled back just enough to take her chin in his hand and tilt her face up to his. "And you know this is what we have to do."

She blinked back the tears so she could see him properly. "I love you. I love you so much, Danny."

"I know. I love you, too." He kissed her, and she clung to him, as if she could keep him here if she just kept kissing him. But eventually, it ended, and he met her eyes again. "You're with me in this, right? You'll let me do what I have to do, and you'll stay here and fight them?"

She nodded. "I… yeah." Then, she sighed and pulled the class ring off her right hand. "It was nice while it lasted, but I guess it's time for this to go back to you."

He hesitated. "They won't let me keep it, I don't think."

"They'll probably hold all your personal effects. And when the courts or the new laws force them to release you, they'll have to give it back."

He smiled, taking the ring and slipping it onto his pinky finger. "Now _that's_ my Sam. The fighter."

She smiled back, trying to bolster him, but the truth was, right now, she didn't feel like she had much fight left.


	45. Surrender

_ **July  
Twelve years after the accident  
Age 25** _

The loud crash woke them up even before the security alarm began wailing. Sam sat bolt upright in bed, but Danny was a beat ahead of her. "Stay here," he instructed her. Then, without changing to ghost form, he phased through the bed and, presumably, through the floor and down into the living room below.

"Yeah, _right._" She reached under the bed for a Fenton Phaser she'd taken to carrying with her since Washington, even though she knew it wasn't ghosts that had set off the alarm. As she grabbed the Phaser, her hand brushed against something else she'd stashed under there.

The Specter Deflector.

Grabbing that as well, she jumped out of bed and dashed for the door and the stairs beyond.

Even knowing what to expect, Sam gasped in horror when she reached the landing and could see into the entrance hall and the living room below. The front door had been broken in and was hanging half off its hinges as dozens of men in white hazmat suits with stormtrooper helmets and huge gear packs on their backs swarmed in. Four of them already had Danny and, despite the fact that he wasn't resisting them and didn't exactly look like a threat in his bare feet, pajama bottoms, and t-shirt, they shoved him, hard, up against the wall, wrenching his arms back behind him to slap glowing, green, ghost-resistant cuffs around his wrists. Then, they pressed some sort of taser-like device up against him, and he cried out in agony as a jolt of electricity ran through him.

"NOOOOOOOOO!" Out of reflex, Sam brought the Phaser up to bear.

"S-Sam, don't!" Danny shouted over the din from the alarm, his face still half pressed against the wall.

She hesitated, then dropped the weapon, but two more Guys in White rushed up the stairs and tackled her, pinning her against the railing and knocking the Specter Deflector out of her hands to clatter down the stairs.

Below, Danny began to struggle for the first time against the men holding him. "Let her go! You have me!"

They responded by shoving Sam further against the wall, and she grunted in pain. Danny used his ice powers to break the binders off his wrists, then phased out of his captors' grasp. "I said, LET HER GO!"

There was a whine as several ecto-weapons powered up. Sam screamed. "DANNY, NO!"

Weapons fired, filling the room with crisscrossing blue beams and a haze of ozone. Sam lost track of Danny until he reappeared, still in human form, behind most of the federal agents. "Looking for me?" The men wheeled around and aimed their weapons anew. Danny held up his hands. "Let my wife go, and I'll come quietly."

The two men holding Sam kept their grip on her while the others fired at Danny. Another scream caught in Sam's throat as Danny disappeared again. There was more shooting and confusion, and then a burst of green—Danny's ghost ray—came from the kitchen, scattering the Guys in White. Suddenly, Sam found herself freed as her two captors dashed down the stairs to help their comrades fight Danny. She whirled around, looking for her dropped Phaser, but she saw Danny reappear by the front door just as another beam of green ectoplasm blasted across the room… from the _kitchen_? Danny looked confused a moment, then his eyes widened in horror as he realized at the same moment as Sam did what was happening.

It wasn't Danny who was using his ghost ray. It was _Danielle_.

Frantic, Danny called out to the Guys in White. "Stop! I'm over here!" Four of them spun around and tackled him, slamming him back against the wall once more, but ectoplasm continued to rain down on them from the other direction.

"It's the wife!" someone called out.

"No, she's still upstairs! Someone else is here! In the kitchen!"

Danielle's voice reverberated across the house. "Got that right! Now _leave my cousin alone_!"

They saw her then—she'd materialized in the doorway of the kitchen, although it looked more like she'd ducked out from behind the door.

"Danielle, stop! You shouldn't be here!" Danny's eyes were wild with fear, more than Sam had ever seen there before.

"I'm not letting them take you!"

And then everything seemed to happen all at once. The Guys in White nearest Danielle brought their weapons up while she geared up to blast them with another round of her ectoplasm. Danny, the fear in his eyes instantly replaced by determination, morphed into ghost form. The blinding flash from the twin rings of light distracted the Guys in White, and he phased away from the four that were holding him, while most of the rest of them trained their weapons in his direction. The room quickly filled with more ozone haze as blue beams from human-made weapons mixed with green ghost rays, although in the confusion from the melee, it was impossible to tell whether it was coming from Danielle or Danny or even if it was possibly another kind of ecto-weapon. Danielle cut around the edge of the living room, knocking half their photos and knick-knacks off the fireplace mantle as she tried to get a new angle. Then Danny reappeared, positioning himself between Danielle and the Guys in White, and put an ecto-shield up in front of them.

Above it all, still on the stairs, with no one paying any attention to her at all, was Sam. And realizing this might be the only shot she'd get, she made her decision.

The Specter Deflector was still on the stairs where she'd dropped it. She scooped it up, then spotted the Fenton Phaser three steps down and grabbed it as well. Vaulting over the rail, she landed not far from the fireplace just as several of the Guys in White, their ecto-weapons useless against Danny's shield, charged forward. Danny moved to the left to draw them away from Danielle, who dove right to try and get a clean shot around him. It gave Sam just enough room to maneuver, and she lunged between them, tackling her target and bringing them both crashing to the hardwood floor. The fall jarred her, clamping her jaw shut painfully and wrenching her shoulder, but with her weight on top, she had the advantage, and she pressed it, wrapping the Specter Deflector around a narrow waist and locking it in place. A turn of the key activated it, and she shuddered as muscles twitched beneath her in reaction to the sudden shock, but she kept her grip, shutting out the agonized cry as she hauled her captive backwards and away from the tangle of Guys in White. "I'm so sorry," she whispered into black hair. "But I couldn't let you do this. He'd never have forgiven me."

And when she looked up, Danny was floating above them. His eyes met hers as she gripped the writhing Danielle tightly in her arms, and she saw a thousand emotions in their depths, but what came through the most was gratitude. He mouthed the words _thank you_, and she nodded in response as her eyes welled up with tears. With another flash of twin light-rings, Danny touched down on the floor, in human form once more. He held up his hands in surrender, and for the third time, four of the Guys in White surrounded him and slammed him up against the wall and put another set of ecto-binders on him. Danielle, still struggling beneath Sam, cried out, and Sam, sobbing, buried her face in the other girl's hair.

"Daniel Fenton, a.k.a. 'Danny Phantom.'" Sam recognized the voice as that of Operative O. "In accordance with the Federal Anti-Ecto Control Act, you are in violation of your probation agreement and are under arrest."

"Fine. Just leave my wife and my cousin alone."

"You're in no position to be making demands, Phantom." That was K.

"I am if you want me to go quietly. I broke through these cuffs once to protect my family. I can do it again."

"Your family attacked federal operatives making a lawful arrest—"

"You invaded our home! I was going to turn myself in tomorrow! And Sam dropped her weapon _before_ you went after her!"

"And the other girl?"

Sam looked up. "She's distraught. Danny's like a… like a big brother to her." She then slid the Fenton Phaser she was still holding across the floor. "Here's her weapon. It's just ectoplasm. It can't do much damage to humans." She prayed silently that they wouldn't take the Phaser as evidence, or they'd know it hadn't been fired and didn't have Danielle's fingerprints on it.

Danny drew the operatives' attention back on himself. "You came for me and you have me. Leave them alone."

Another of the white hazmat-suited men stepped forward. "Leave the humans. We only need the Ghost Boy."

Sam saw Danny's shoulders slump in relief as the Guys in White began to file out of the house. One of them jerked Danny away from the wall, and Sam winced, biting her lip to keep from crying out. Her eyes met his one more time as she clung to Danielle to stop her from shaking. And then they hauled him away, knocking the door the rest of the way off the hinges as they left, and Sam started sobbing into Danielle's hair once more.

* * *

It was a long time before Sam could function again and bring herself to let go of Danielle. Her hands shaking as she tried to get the image of them hauling Danny away out of her head, she started to reach for the key to the Specter Deflector to remove it from Danielle's waist, but then she remembered the surveillance camera. She had to keep thinking strategically if she wanted to get Danny back, and the camera would've activated and recorded the entire confrontation from the moment they'd busted through the door. So long as there was nothing on there that incriminated Dani, it would be a valuable tool for both the media and the courts. If, however, Dani had been caught using her ghost powers on tape, Sam would destroy it.

In the meantime, she didn't want a video record of what would follow, so she dragged herself to her feet and went over to the door where the security system control panel was located. She shut down the camera and the door alarm, and the ensuing silence was almost painful. Afterwards, she went back to Danielle, reached around her waist, and unlocked the Specter Deflector.

As soon as she pulled it from Danielle's waist, the half-ghost slumped in relief, but just for a moment. Then, she shoved Sam as hard as she could. "Get away from me!" She tried to get to her feet, but her muscles were still rebelling from the prolonged exposure to the Specter Deflector, not to mention the usual weakness that followed whenever she used her ghost powers. She shot Sam a look of pure venom. "You let them take him!"

Sam closed her eyes and hung her head. "I know."

"How _could_ you? You were supposed to help me stop it, but you _let them take him_! This is _your fault_! I will never forgive you. Do you understand me? I will _never forgive you_ for letting them take him!""

"I had to, Dani. If they would've found out about you—"

"Who cares about me? I'm nobody!"

"Not to Danny you're not! And not to me!"

"You could have saved him, but you betrayed him instead!"

"No, I didn't. He was counting on me to protect you. If I'd have let you expose yourself to them, _that_ would've been betraying him, and _he_ would've never forgiven me. _I_ could never have forgiven _myself_."

"You are his _wife_! The most important person in his world! He would've gotten over it!"

"I'm not the most important person in his world, Danielle. _You_ are. Don't you get that? And that's as it should be."

"Why?"

"You know why!"

"Because Vlad stole some of his DNA and knew some cool science tricks? Give me a break!"

"It's more than that, and you know it!"

"No, it isn't! It's not even _real_!"

Sam fought the urge to slap her. "Don't you _ever_ say that. It's real to Danny! And it is to you, too, or you wouldn't be so desperate to save him. But that's not the way it works. _He_ looks after _you_, and he always will. Protecting you is his top priority, and I promised him nine years ago that I would support that. What you were asking of me, to break that promise, to betray him… I couldn't do it."

"Not even to _save_ him?"

Sam squeezed her eyes shut, the pain in her chest so overwhelming she could hardly breathe. "No. Not even to save him."


	46. Danielle: Part III

_ **May  
Two and a half years after the accident  
Age 16** _

She found him in the Op-Center, sitting on one of the counters at the edge of the room, his legs dangling over the side as he kept an eye on the translucent plastic curtain of the infirmary his parents had set up. Inside, his cousin, still sick from whatever Vlad had done to her, slept.

"Hey, stranger." Sam joined Danny at the counter and pulled herself up to sit beside him, swinging her feet in rhythm with his. "Haven't seen you since school let out on Friday." It was Sunday afternoon.

He nodded as he slid over to make room for her. "Yeah. I've been spending all my time here with Danielle."

"I kinda figured." Sam looked over to the wall of curtains, through which she could just make out the hazy form of the black-haired girl sleeping peacefully in her hospital bed. "How's she doing?"

"Better. My mom thinks she'll be able to get up and start doing stuff within the next couple of days."

"And the ghost powers?"

Danny's resigned look turned a bit darker, and he shrugged. "Not sure. Mom doesn't think she'll ever be able to full-on go ghost, but she might be able to use limited powers in human form, like I can. There's really no way to know for sure until she's well enough to try it."

Sam chewed on her lip as she considered this. "Is it gonna be weird, having another kid with ghost powers coming to live with you?"

His face darkened further. "She should've been here all along."

"Danny…" Sam sighed, reaching over to put a hand on his shoulder. "What happened to her is not your fault."

"No. But she's my responsibility, and I let her down."

"You said that about Valerie, too, when Vlad and the Fright Knight kicked her around during the whole Pariah Dark thing. You cannot keep blaming yourself every time Vlad does something sick and twisted just because he's your enemy."

"That isn't what I mean, Sam. This isn't about Vlad. It's about Dani." He looked towards where the young girl was sleeping. "I… I should've been looking out for her."

"Danny, I know she's your cousin—"

"She's not my cousin." He turned to look at her, his eyes searching, as if trying to gauge her response.

Sam just frowned, a little confused. "She's not?"

"No. I…" He winced. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you and Tucker, but it… it just didn't seem fair to her. She deserves to have her own life, her own identity, and since she's the one who said she was my cousin, it seemed best to just leave it at that. But…" He turned away, looking towards Danielle once more. "She's not my cousin. She's… something else, only… not who I thought she was all this time, either, or even who _she_ thinks she is. My mom and dad did some DNA tests on her, and… it's kind of huge, Sam. Like, getting-ghost-powers huge. It… it changes everything—my whole life, my priorities, _everything_—in a really major way, and I haven't even completely been able to wrap my mind around it yet. That's why I've been kind of avoiding everyone the past couple of days, because I've needed some time to process what my parents found out. But I'm kinda glad you came over, because you… you need to know about all this, even if I haven't figured out yet how to tell you. I…" He faced her again, his eyes meeting hers, and her stomach took an uneasy dip at how serious he looked. "You put up with so much weirdness to be with me."

"I don't put up with it, Danny. I _love_ it. I love _you_."

"I love you, too." For just a moment, his face softened, but then it was gone and the grave look was back. "That's why I need to tell you everything. _Just_ you. For now. I…" He looked down at his feet dangling above the floor. "I'll tell Tucker eventually. Probably even soon. And Valerie, too. But for now, I'm only ready to tell you."

Her stomach took another dip, and she found herself unnerved by his reticence to share whatever this was with Tucker. "Okay, I like a creepy story introduction as much as the next goth, but you're kinda starting to scare me here. What about Danielle could possibly change _your_ whole life? I know she has ghost powers like yours and everything—"

"It's not the ghost powers. It's who she is." He took a deep breath, and Sam realized that beneath the solemnity, he was really nervous. "Remember when she first showed up, and Vlad nabbed me, and you guys had to come rescue me at his place in Colorado?" She nodded, and he continued. "He was working on a cloning project then. Those ghosts that attacked right before then, at the mini golf course and at school—they were all a part of it. And… and so was Danielle."

Sam's brow furrowed. "A cloning project? Who was he—?" And then she knew, before she even finished asking the question, and she gasped. "Vlad was trying to _clone_ you?"

He nodded, his lips pressed together.

"I…" She had no idea what to say. "That's just… so… _wrong_."

"Just wait. It gets way more wrong than that." He flashed a bitter, sardonic grin. "This _is_ Vlad we're talking about. He… I guess he figured if he couldn't get me to be his perfect half-ghost 'son,' he'd make one of his own. Most of them…" Looking a little sick, he paused and took another breath before going on. "Most of them were… messed up. They melted into green goop if I hit 'em with my ghost ray. Danielle… she was the only one who was… real."

Sam's eyes widened. "Wait. You're saying Danielle is a _clone_? Of _you_?" She shook her head. "How is that possible? Aren't clones genetic duplicates? You can't have a clone that's a girl!"

He sort of half chuckled. "And that would be why you get better grades in science than I do. I guess I just figured there was some sort of mutation or something. Like how the other clones weren't exactly like me, either, because something got messed up in the process."

She crossed her arms and arched an eyebrow at him. "You'd better not be saying girls are messed-up, mutated versions of boys."

He snorted. "Yeah, _so_ not going there. Although, it turns out there is a kind of genetic disorder where a girl can have XY chromosomes like a boy. My mom tried to explain it to me, but I didn't really follow all of it. Something about a missing gene the Y chromosome is supposed to carry that makes someone a boy."

"And that's what happened to Danielle? She's a clone of you, but without this gene?"

Sighing, he looked down at his lap. "No. Danielle isn't a clone of me. I thought she was, until my parents tested her DNA. She still thinks she is. I… haven't figured out how to tell her the truth yet, about who she really is."

Sam put her hand to her forehead, confused. "Okay, you're losing me here. If she's not your cousin and she's not a clone, then who is she?"

It took him a long time to answer. He sat with his hands clenched together in his lap, watching Danielle sleep through the curtain around her bed, until Sam was beginning to think he wasn't going to answer at all. Then, he lowered his head again and took yet another deep breath, as if steeling himself, before turning back to Sam. "According to my parents, Vlad was interested in a lot of different kinds of genetic experiments in college. While they were obsessed with ghosts and building the prototype ghost portal, he was researching genetic engineering. Cloning was a big part of it, but he was doing more than just cloning. Apparently, one of his big pet projects was trying to use ordinary DNA—from hair or blood or skin cells or whatever—in this process called 'meiosis.' We studied it in ninth grade biology, remember?"

"Sounds vaguely familiar. Refresh my memory."

"Uh… okay, let's see how much I understood from what my mom said. You know DNA is made up of two strands of chromosomes, one from the person's mother and one from their father, right?"

She nodded.

"Okay. So, in cloning, you're just taking the whole DNA and making a duplicate, so that the new DNA is exactly the same as the old one. Then, it's grown into a whole separate person with exactly the same DNA as the host. Like identical twins."

"Yeah, I knew that."

"Well, meiosis is a little different. The DNA duplicates itself, and then each duplicate splits in half to form four separate strands. Only, instead of just having two strands from the mom's side and two strands from your dad's, the strands kind of mix with each other, so that maybe one strand has the mom's hair and the dad's eyes, and another has the dad's height and the mom's brains. So each strand is a unique mixture of chromosomes from both parents."

She wasn't sure where she was going with this, but she nodded again. "Okay. This is starting to sound familiar."

"Each completely unique strand is now half of the chromosomes needed to make a new person. So…" He swallowed. "So it needs to be combined with another strand, from a different… host. A strand that's also gone through meiosis and is a completely unique combination of that person's parents' genes. The two strands get combined, and you have a whole new DNA. A whole new and completely unique person."

Sam frowned as she processed this. "Wait. If we studied this in biology, how is it some advanced genetic thing Vlad would've been into in college?"

"Because it's a normal process, but it only occurs in certain kinds of cells, not just any DNA from hair or whatever. It's…" He looked embarrassed. "It's sexual reproduction, Sam. Without the sex. It's how humans reproduce on a genetic level. The separate strands form the, uh… the 'gametes,' I think my mom called them. The sperm or the eggs. Only, Vlad wanted to do it with _any_ DNA, so he wouldn't need the gametes. He wanted to be able to create his own new person just by taking a strand of hair or something. And… that's what he did. That's who Dani is. He took my DNA and split it and combined it with someone else's, forming a whole new person—Dani. And then he put her through this massive accelerated growth, so that she aged, like, twelve years all at once. She's really only been alive for about two years, even though she's physically about fourteen."

Her eyes widened as she started to realize what he was saying. "He used your DNA to mimic sexual reproduction? But… wouldn't that make Danielle…?"

He nodded. "She's my daughter, Sam."


	47. The Ghost of Christmas Present: Part X

_ **Amity Park  
December 23, 3:00 am CST** _

Something was wrong.

At first, Sam wasn't sure what, but she'd been sleeping soundly on the living room couch, having fallen asleep there crying over Danny, and now she was wide awake and completely alert. The room was dimly illuminated by the reddish glow of the Christmas lights, and "Carol of the Bells" was playing on the MP3 player, which she'd never turned off. A quick check of the clock told her it was three in the morning, but she had no idea what had awoken her. She put her hand to her belly, feeling a fluttery kick as she did so. Everything seemed fine with the baby, and she didn't need to go to the bathroom. No cold feeling, either, so it wasn't a ghost.

Then she heard it over the music. The distinct rattle of the front door, and movement in the entryway.

Someone was in the house.

Her heart pounding in her chest, she sat up as quickly as she was able and reached into the pocket of her robe, her fingers curling around the handle of her ever-present Fenton Phaser. She cursed the security alarm for failing to activate, until she realized she'd never gotten around to turning it on before falling asleep. Had it been just her, with no baby to be concerned about, she would've laughed at the irony. Jack and Nick had spent hours arguing over how best to configure the system to protect her, only to have her fail to turn the stupid thing on.

Another sound from the entryway got her moving again. Slipping her hand into her computer bag, still propped up against the side of the couch, she searched for the Fenton Porta-Portal remote. When she couldn't find it, she frowned, then swore silently as she remembered that she'd left it on the fireplace mantel when she'd opened up a portal for the Box Ghost. Squinting into the weird shadows cast by the glow from the Christmas lights, she could see the small, gray device exactly where she'd left it.

Across the room.

At least she still had the Fenton Phaser. It was the same one she'd had the night Danny had been arrested. Since then, Jack had modified it, adding a taser-like element that would give it an added punch against humans. It wasn't lethal, but would hold off an attacker long enough to allow her to escape through the Porta-Portal… _if_ she could get to the remote, that is.

Easing herself off the couch, she gripped the Phaser in both hands and kept it trained on at the doorway into the entrance hall as she sidestepped towards the fireplace, being careful to stick to the shadows to stay as hidden as possible. There were more noises loud enough to be heard over the music—the scrape of wood-on-wood that she guessed was the legs of the little decorative table that stood near the door grazing the hardwood floor, and a clunking noise that sounded like the intruder had upset the vase on top of it, then caught it before it could crash to the ground.

Sam wrinkled her nose at the prowler's odd behavior. The Guys in White rarely went for a stealthy entrance when a SWAT-team-style invasion would do, and they always traveled in pairs or more, whereas it sounded like only one person in her doorway. Could it just be a run-of-the-mill burglar, then? It certainly wasn't a ghost, judging by the lack of Ghost Sense from the baby. Unless… It occurred to her that Danny had never been able to sense ghosts when they were overshadowing humans. What if Walker or one of his Goons was attempting to trick her by overshadowing someone? But, like the Guys in White, they tended to travel in pairs or larger groups.

Before Sam could reach the fireplace, a silhouette emerged in the doorway. She tracked it with her Phaser, making sure to stay well back in the shadows so that if it were just a burglar, he wouldn't be able to see that she was pregnant. Then, the prowler froze, and she realized she'd been spotted. For a long moment, they both stood completely still, two silent and unmoving shadows, as if Clockwork had stopped time. On her stereo, "Carol of the Bells" rose to a crescendo, making her heart beat faster. She took a breath to steady her nerves and keep her voice from shaking as she kept the Phaser aimed at the intruder. "Okay, that's far enough. This weapon works on either ghosts or humans, so whichever you are, you'd better think twice before you take another step."

Sam could make out arms rising into the air in a gesture of surrender as the figure did take one more step, bringing himself out of the shadows and into the dim light cast by the Christmas tree. "How about a little of both?"

Sam felt most of the air rush out her lungs, and her legs nearly buckled beneath her. _"Danny?"_

He looked haggard, his hair still about the same length, but more unkempt than usual. There was a slight shadow of a beard on his chin, his eyes were a little sunken and, even in the dim light, his skin seemed pale. He looked thinner, too—gaunt instead of lean and muscular. She didn't recognize his coat or clothes but, then, he'd been wearing pajamas when he'd been arrested, and that had been the middle of summer. The scene was so unreal that she thought she must be mistaken, that it must simply be someone who somewhat resembled Danny, until he gave her a sheepish grin that was so _Danny_ that her heart caught in her throat.

"Hi, honey, I'm home."

It sounded like him, too, with his dry wit, as if he'd just been gone an hour or two fighting some ghost. It was surreal, him standing there as if he'd never been gone, and she couldn't move, could hardly even breathe. Afraid that it was a dream, or a trick, or… something she couldn't name, she kept him in the sights of her Phaser. "_Danny?_ Is it…? But… _how_?"

Still keeping his hands in the air, he shrugged. "They just… let me go. Stuck me on a plane, then a van, and then dumped me off here on the doorstep with no explanation."

She blinked. "_Let you go?_ Just… _let you go?_" It didn't make sense, couldn't be real. "Five months of fighting every injunction and stay we filed, of refusing to bring you before the court or even tell us if you were still _alive_, and they just _let you go_?"

He moved his right hand, and she reflexively jerked the Phaser, causing him to freeze again. "Okaaaaay, you're obviously a little freaked out. Not that I blame you. But if you promise not to shoot me, I have something for you." He moved his hand again, slower this time. She tightened her grip on the Phaser, but let him dip his hand into his jacket pocket. When he pulled it out again, it looked empty, but then he held up something between his thumb and forefinger. Something small and round, and when the light hit it, she caught a glint of gold and gasped.

Her class ring.

He gave her another sheepish grin. "It took a little longer than I would've liked, but I did promise…"

"Danny," she breathed, tears filling her eyes. The Phaser slipped from her hands, clattering to the floor, forgotten, and she was out of the shadows and across the room without even knowing how she'd gotten there. As soon as she touched him and was in his arms, kissing him, she knew he was really real, that this wasn't some cruel trick or dream.

She barely had time for that to register, however, when he abruptly jerked back from her. "Whoa!"

She frowned, confused. "Danny?"

He was staring at her, a look of complete shock in his eyes. She couldn't understand what could possibly be wrong until she realized his eyes were locked, not on her face, but on her abdomen, protruding out through her open robe. He started stammering. "Y-you… you're…?"

She began to laugh and cry all at once, covering her mouth with folded hands, as if she were praying. "They didn't tell you. How could they not _tell_ you?" She stopped, smiling up at him through her tears. "You're gonna be a father, Danny. Well, technically, _again_. But your first son. He's due in March."

This seemed to break through the stupor he was in and he met her eyes again. "A… it's a…?"

She nodded, her hands still in front of her mouth. "I can't believe those bastards didn't tell you. We tried everything we could think of to force them to let us get word to you. But they wouldn't tell us anything. Not if you knew, not if you were okay, not even if you were alive." Tears were streaming down her face in earnest now.

"I… they… every so often, they'd throw tabloids at me. One hinted you were… but… it was the same paper that said you and Tucker were… so, I wasn't exactly taking it as gospel truth."

She let out a disgusted grunt, wiping the tears from her cheeks. "_Stupid_ tabloids! They cropped Valerie out of a picture of the _three_ of us… from a 'Save Danny Phantom' rally, of all things. Last July."

He blinked again, looking back down at her belly. His hands moved as if he wanted to touch her but couldn't quite summon the courage. Nodding her permission, she pushed up her tank-top to expose her extended abdomen, and he tentatively reached toward her. A look of wonder crossed his features as his fingers brushed across skin stretched taunt over the solid mass of muscle that sheltered the life they had created together. "You… you're really…? But… _how_?"

She laughed, unable to summon enough snark to reply as she had when Tucker had asked the same question. "In Washington, just before the press conference and the House hearings. Maybe even on our anniversary. I was so worried about you and so distracted, I forgot to take my pills. Three times that month."

"I… Is everything okay? It's… he's… okay? _You're_ okay?"

She nodded. "We just had a checkup today, in fact. Well, yesterday, now. He's just where he should be for twenty-eight weeks. And your mom… she's been a godsend. She came up with a serum to make sure he couldn't phase right through—"

Danny jerked back again. "_What?"_

She smiled, wiping more tears off her face. "He's your son, Danny. Your DNA. Your powers."

"He's… a _ghost_? Are you sure?"

She nodded. "It was the ghosts who figured out I was pregnant in the first place. They could sense him."

His face darkened. "If any of them so much as—"

"No, no," she hastened to assure him. "They've been protecting us, actually. All but Walker, anyway. It's some sort of weird ghost thing, like the Christmas Truce or our wedding. The Box Ghost even brought him a Christmas present, just a few hours ago."

Danny shook his head slightly, as if he were trying but failing to make sense out of what she was saying. The dark look remained, however. "What about the Guys in White?"

"They don't know for sure if he's part ghost, so they haven't been able to do anything. No one but the family, our closest friends, and my doctor knows for sure. The government has tried to get a court order to force her to release my medical records and the results of the amniocentesis that confirmed his DNA has an ecto profile like yours, but so far we've blocked them. And we've… made backup plans just in case. Frostbite has already agreed to let us stay in the Far Frozen if things get dicey here."

"I…" He put his hand on her cheek. "Oh, Sam. I am _so_ sorry. I had no idea you'd be in danger, too. I thought if they had me—"

"Shh." She put a finger to his lips. "It doesn't matter now. Everything's fine now that you're here."

He looked stricken. "I missed everything."

"No." She took his face in her hands and kissed him. The stubble on his face scratched hers, but she didn't care. "You're just in time. You came back just in time." The tears started to flow again. "You're _back_. I can't believe… in time for the baby. In time for _Christmas_." Then, a thought occurred to her, and she gave him a searching look. "You're… you're okay with this, right? The baby, I mean. You're not—?"

He blinked again. "_Okay_? Are you kidding me? A little stunned, maybe, but… God, Sam. Do you have any idea how much I love you?"

The kiss lasted much longer this time, melting away the last five horrible months as if they were nothing more than a nightmare from which she'd finally awoken. He was here. He would be here to see the birth of their son. To hear his first word. To see his first step.

He was _home_.

But when she stepped back a moment later, she frowned, realizing he was leaning on her a little more heavily than he should be. "Danny, are you okay?"

"I'm… a little…" He sagged against her, and her relief evaporated, replaced by alarm.

"Danny? Is it just the shock of the whole baby thing, or did they…?"

He gave her a rueful grin, and she really _saw_ him and just how gaunt and pale he was. He seemed to struggle to find the right words. "They've been trying to find a way to purge the ghost powers. Shot me up with all sorts of stuff over the last few months. Can't go ghost or use my powers without…" He shook his head. "Kinda like what Vlad did to Danielle. I'm not feeling great in human form, either. That's probably why they let me go. I guess I'm not much of a threat anymore."

Sam sucked in her breath. "Those sick _bastards_. Come on. We've gotta get you to your parents'. Your mom will know what to do."

He was leaning very heavily against her now, as if it had only been the adrenaline from being home again, and then from finding out about the baby, that had kept him upright in the first place. "Not sure I can make it that far right at the moment. Maybe a rest first…"

The sudden urgency snapped her into Fight Mode, and she was all business. "Nothing doing, Ghost Boy. We'll take the short cut. Just lean on me."

"But you're _pregnant_." He actually said the word without stumbling on it this time.

"Yeah, we've already established that. I'm still in good shape, though. And it isn't far. We just have to get to the fireplace."

"The fireplace?"

"I told you. It's a shortcut."

Taking his arm and throwing it over her shoulders and wrapping her own arm around his waist, she helped him across the room to the fireplace and grabbed the Fenton Porta-Portal remote off of the mantle where she'd left it. She aimed it at the fireplace and, with a flash of light, a swirling green vortex opened up above the hearth.

Danny's brow furrowed. "A ghost portal? Why are we going into the Ghost Zone?"

"This portal opens out right next to the one in FentonWorks." She dragged him in through the opening, and the found themselves on a slab of rock beside a second, larger portal, this one surrounded by the familiar metal plating that indicated it was man-made. Sam aimed the remote at the portal they came through, closing it behind them, then limped with Danny through the second portal to emerge in the FentonWorks basement lab. Sam immediately turned to her right and slapped her hand down on the big red button there, activating the ghost alarm.

Danny had to shout to be heard over the alarm. "Uh… won't my parents shoot first and ask questions later with that ghost alarm blaring?"

"This is all part of the backup plan!" Sam shouted back. "If I need to get away quickly, I'm supposed to come here and get the Specter Speeder. They'll know it might be me."

Sure enough, moments later they heard thundering on the steps above and Jack's voice rang out, deep and menacing, over the alarm. "Who's down there?"

Sam called back. "It's me—Sam! Come quick!" She leaned over and hit the alarm button again, silencing it.

It was Maddie who replied. "Sam? Is everything—?" And then she appeared at the bottom of the steps and stopped short, gasping. Jack slammed into her from behind, knocking her forward a few steps.

"What in the sam heck is—?" And then Jack saw them, too. "Is that…?"

Danny, still leaning on Sam, gave his parents a wan smile. "Hey, Mom. Dad. I'm home."

They were all over him in an instant, until Sam thought he would be smothered under Jack's mammoth embrace and Maddie's kisses and tears. She allowed them a moment, but when Maddie started asking questions, Sam cut her off. "Something's wrong with him. They drugged him up with something, maybe like what Vlad did to Danielle."

"Oh, my poor baby!" Then, she became all business. "Do you know what they gave you, sweetie?"

He shook his head. "It's all a blur. They kept me drugged up a lot of the time, and they've been trying all sorts of things over the last few months to 'purge' the ghost 'contamination.' To make me fully human again."

Jack looked ready to punch someone. "I'd like to decontaminate _them_…"

Maddie shook her head. "They tried to do it with _drugs_? There are a million different ways to separate out the ghost from the human, but not with _drugs_. It isn't an _illness_."

"I know, Mom. I tried explaining it, but apparently a master's in chemistry and twelve years experience _as_ a ghost doesn't count for much with them."

"Well, don't you worry, sweetie. We'll find out what they gave you and get it out of your system. Jack, get him up to the Op-Center. Sam, you call Dr. Mihashi right away."

Sam frowned. "My _obstetrician_?"

"Whoa." Danny shook his head as he leaned against his father. "I don't know exactly what they did to me, Mom, but I'm reasonably sure I'm not _pregnant_."

"She's an M.D. who's spent the last four months studying ghosts. Unless you know of any others, call her."

Sam nodded, following behind as Jack scooped up his son and, cradling him like a child, carried him towards the stairs.

* * *

When the phone rang, Jazz was already up taking her turn with Charley, whose ear infection had kept them up most of the night. Alarmed at getting a call at such an hour, she rushed to her bedroom with Charley in her arms.

Nick had already answered the phone when she got there, and the fact that he went from groggy to alert in an instant did nothing to ease her fears, nor did his sharp intake of breath into the receiver. "_What?_ Are you _serious_? They just… in the dead of night with no warning or anything?" He paused, listening. "Yeah, of course. Jazz is already up with the baby. I'll send her right over." Another pause. "No, no, no. Let me take care of the rest of the phone calls. You need to be with them, and so does Jazz. I'll make the calls and bring Charley over in a bit, okay? We'll see you soon." Then, he hung up the phone and looked up at Jazz.

She clung to Charley, her heart beating hard. "Is it Sam? Did something happen to her and the baby?"

"No. Jazz. It's…" Nick swallowed, looking shell-shocked. "It's _Danny_. He's _home_."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _They cropped Valerie out of a picture of the _three _of us… from a 'Save Danny Phantom' rally, of all things._ This one is for my friends at the Danny Phantom Online Forums. :)


	48. The Ghost of Christmas Present: Part XI

_ **Washington, D.C.  
December 23, 4:30 am EST** _

Valerie raced over the National Mall towards the Capitol Building on her jet sled, in violation of at least three anti-terrorism laws. But with Tucker not allowed to use his phone, tablet, or any other communication device while in session on the floor of the House, she wasn't going to waste any precious time driving or taking the Metro from their apartment in Alexandria to get word to him. If it meant ticking off a few Metro Police officers or the Capitol Police, so be it.

Her breath caught as she passed the Danny Phantom statue, and then the Capitol Building lay ahead. Veering right, she angled her sled up over the long flight of stairs on the south side of the West Front entrance. Without even stopping, she clicked her heels together, and the sled and suit disappeared while she was still in midair. She hit the ground at the top of the steps at a dead run, barely stumbling as she raced towards the House Visitor's entrance, pulling her I.D. and her House gallery pass out of her inside coat pocket as she went, skidding to a stop only when two Capitol Police officers stopped her at the door.

She waved her identification at them. "I'm Valerie Gray, Representative Foley's fiancée. I need to see him right away."

The officers were obviously in no hurry as they slowly perused her I.D. The taller of the two looked her over. "I'm sorry, Ms. Gray, but the congressman is in session right now."

"I know that!" She tapped her foot impatiently. "If he wasn't in session, I would've just called him!" Taking a breath, she tried again. "I have an urgent message for him. A family emergency. We need to return home right away."

At last, he nodded, handing her I.D. and gallery pass back to her. "Follow me."

* * *

Tucker rubbed his eyes under his glasses. Caroline Strong of Arizona was arguing in favor of the new Clean Water Act, and Tucker found himself agreeing with all her points, but he still had reservations. Why were two of the most anti-ecto members of the House sponsoring this bill when they'd never so much as voted in favor of an environmental bill, let alone sponsored one before? It was gnawing at him, and as he listened to Representative Strong's speech, he kept searching for some hidden agenda, some piece of the bill that could somehow be used to collect DNA samples from the public against their knowledge.

Chris Sanders leaned over to him. "It's a good bill, Tuck. Stop looking between the lines."

"It's my job to look between the lines."

Chris sighed. "Not at…" He checked his watch. "Four-thirty in the morning." Shaking his head, he leaned back, looking exhausted. "This is insane. I don't know how we can be expected to make rational decisions at this hour."

"I hear ya, man." Tucker nodded his agreement. "I think that's—"

"Excuse me, Mr. Foley?"

Tucker turned to find the Sergeant at Arms leaning over his chair. Tucker sat up straight. "Yes?"

The Sergeant at Arms handed him a folded slip of paper. "Your fiancée said she has an urgent message for you."

Tucker's eyes widened as he took the paper and thanked the man. His heart beating in his chest—an urgent message from Valerie at four-thirty in the morning could _so_ not be good—he unfolded the paper. There were only two words written there, and he sucked in his breath as he read them.

_He's home!_

Blinking, he looked at the note again, sure he'd read it wrong. But no, there it was, in Valerie's familiar script. _He's home!_ It couldn't possibly mean what he thought it meant, though. Could it?

"Tucker?" Chris leaned towards him again. "Everything all right? 'Cause I never thought I'd say this to a black man, but you look as white as a…"

Tucker turned to Chris, something resembling a laugh escaping him. "A ghost?"

"Well… yeah."

A movement in the Visitors' Gallery above the Speaker's podium caught his eye, and Tucker looked up to see Valerie hurrying in. She was too far away for him to see her face, but her hands were clasped together under her chin and she had that live-wire look she would get when she was really excited or agitated about something. It was all the confirmation he needed, and he jumped to his feet, crumpling the note in his hand.

Chris hissed at him. "Tuck? What are you doing? What's wrong?"

The Speaker glared at him from the podium, interrupting Caroline Strong. "Would the gentleman from Indiana like to ask the gentlewoman from Arizona to yield?"

"I…" Tucker tried to get brain functioning on proper procedure, but he couldn't quite think straight and fumbled through as best he could. "Madam Speaker, I apologize for the interruption, but I have just received word from my fiancée of a family emergency requiring my immediate attention. It cannot wait for an appropriate written request of leave at the end of business."

The Speaker raised her eyebrows. "A family emergency?"

"Yes. It's… of a personal nature, one that I don't wish to have entered into the Congressional Record. But it's vital that I return to Amity Park immediately."

The Speaker looked to the Minority Leader who, as Tucker's party leader, would normally be the one to sign off on his leave. "Does the gentleman from New York object to granting the gentleman from Indiana an emergency leave of absence?"

He turned to Tucker, frowning, but then shook his head as he faced the Speaker once more. "No, Madam Speaker."

She eyed Tucker as if she were a school principal and he were a wayward student she knew was trying to ditch class with a fake excuse, but couldn't quite prove it. "The gentleman from Indiana is excused."

"Thank you, Madam Speaker." Tucker nodded towards his party leader as well, since he was only allowed to directly address the Speaker or whoever was chairing the session, then quickly began gathering up his things and shoving them into his briefcase. In the Visitors' Gallery, Valerie was already leaving.

Chris looked up at him. "What happened? Is everything okay?"

"Everything's…" He sucked in another breath and saw that his hands were shaking. "I don't know." And before Chris could question him further, he turned and walked down the aisle and out of the House Chamber.

In the corridor, he headed towards the stairs that led up to the Visitors' Gallery just as Valerie came hurtling down them. She flung herself into his arms, her momentum spinning him a full hundred and eighty degrees. "Can you believe it, Tuck? He's—"

"Hold up." He cut her off, jerking his head towards the Capitol Police officers and the Sergeant at Arms standing near the Chamber doors. Disentangling himself from her embrace, he took her arm and dragged her down the hall to the nearest committee room. When they were inside and he'd shut the door behind him, he turned to her. "Is it true? Is Danny really _home_?"

She nodded. "Nick called, about fifteen minutes ago. I flew over here on my sled."

"But… how? What happened?"

"He was sketchy on the details. I guess that about half an hour ago, they just dumped him on his own front doorstep. He scared Sam half to death."

"They… wait. You're saying they _let him go_?"

"Apparently."

"The _hell_?"

"They're over at FentonWorks now. Tuck… they did something to him. He's sick or something. Nick didn't know any details."

The relief and joy Tucker was feeling soured, turning into a knot in his gut. "What did they do?"

"I just told you, Nick didn't know any details. Listen. We can stand here talking about it, or we can go see for ourselves." She held out her hand, and a helmet materialized.

Tucker took a step back. "Oh, no. I am not flying all the way to Amity Park on your sled."

"I've got one of Mr. Fenton's Porta-Portals—the one that opens up near the Far Frozen. A fifteen-minute trip through the Ghost Zone from there to the Fenton Portal, or a two-hour wait for a two-hour flight to Chicago and an hour's drive to Amity Park? Your choice."

Tucker groaned, taking the helmet. "Why is it always for Danny that I end up on the back of your sled?"

* * *

They walked quickly towards the underground tunnel that connected the Capitol Building to the Rayburn House Office Building, waiting until they were well inside before Valerie activated her suit. She jumped aboard the sled, toeing the Porta-Portal remote attached to it. A flash of light opened in the tunnel, coalescing into a swirling mass of glowing green light, and Tucker climbed onto the sled behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and clinging to her as tightly as he could. She shot off through the portal, closing it behind them, and they raced across the Ghost Zone, Tucker biting back screams the whole way.

It was a little less terrifying than flying on her sled in the Human World, however. Here, there was no ground onto which he could splat. And humans were intangible in the Ghost Zone anyway. But when they finally reached the Fenton Portal, Valerie didn't stop, instead soaring through the portal and up the basement stairs into the kitchen. Tucker shrieked in fear as she navigated the narrow stairway. Once in the kitchen, she finally came to an abrupt halt, sending him tumbling off the sled.

They heard a startled yelp from the living room, then the sound of a baby crying. Patrick rushed into the kitchen holding Jazz and Nick's wailing daughter just as Tucker was climbing shakily to his feet. When Patrick saw them, he breathed a sigh of relief. "It's you! Aren't you supposed to be in Washington?"

"We took a shortcut through the Ghost Zone," Valerie told him as her suit and sled disappeared.

Patrick rolled his eyes as he bounced Charley up and down, trying to calm her. "You'd think after five years, I'd get used to all the strange things that go on around this place, but—"

"Patrick," Tucker interrupted. "Where's Danny? Is he here?"

"He's up in the Op-Center. The family's all up there with him, along with Dash, and Sam's doctor. This poor little one has an ear infection and won't go to sleep." He indicated Charley with a nod of his head. "I'm watching her so Jazz and Nick can be with Danny."

"Thanks, Patrick." Tucker leaned over to a panel in the wall among the kitchen cabinets and pressed his hand against it while calling out, "Two to the Op-Center."

A huge pneumatic tube came down from the ceiling, surrounding Tucker and Valerie. Tucker closed his eyes at yet another terrifying trip—this one mercifully brief—which took them both from the kitchen up into the giant hodgepodge of metal that Mr. Fenton had built onto the roof of the house. They landed in the center of the room and found themselves facing Mr. and Mrs. Fenton and a petite Asian woman in her late thirties, whom Tucker recognized as Sam's obstetrician, Leanne Mihashi. The three of them were huddled around what looked like medical diagnostic equipment, the sight of which caused Tucker to shudder with dread. Even the prospect of seeing Danny wasn't enough to completely override his fear of hospitals.

Startled by his and Valerie's unexpected arrival, the Fentons and Dr. Mihashi looked up in unison, and Mrs. Fenton's eyes widened in surprise. "Tucker! Valerie! How on earth did you get here so fast?"

"Came through the Ghost Zone on my sled," Valerie answered.

Mr. Fenton beamed. "The Fenton Porta-Portal working for you then, Valerie?"

His wife gave him an admonishing look. "Jack! I don't think they're here to talk about your inventions." Smiling at Tucker and Valerie, she nodded towards the corner of the Op-Center where a portion of the room was cordoned off with plastic curtains. "He's in there with the others."

Tucker swallowed. "Is he—?"

"Why don't you go see for yourself?"

He gave a jerky nod to Mrs. Fenton before heading towards the infirmary with Valerie, his heart pounding in his chest as he approached the opening that served as a door into the area. Dash and Nick were standing just inside the opening like two sentries, and in the middle of the area, Jazz and Sam were seated on either side of a hospital bed. In the bed…

Tucker's breath caught in his throat as his gaze settled on his oldest and closest friend. He looked weak and haggard, with a day's growth of stubble on his chin, and hair even more unkempt than usual, but Tucker had never seen a more wonderful sight in his entire life.

Then, Danny spotted him, and a smile lit up his too-pale face. "Tucker!"

Everyone else in the room looked over at them, and Sam's mouth dropped open. "You're here! How did you get here so fast?"

"Hitched a ride on a sled through the Ghost Zone." He jerked his head backwards, indicating Valerie, standing behind him.

Danny's eyes widened. "Wow. You hate riding that thing. I'm touched."

Tucker almost laughed. Man, it sounded like Danny. A little weak, but… same Danny. Tucker opened his mouth, intending to come back with some smart-aleck reply, but the words seemed to evaporate off his tongue, and he could only gape at the man a part of him had feared he might never see again.

It was Jazz who broke through his stupor. "He doesn't have anything contagious, you know. You can come in and say hello."

When he still didn't move, Dash nudged him in the shoulder. Tucker stumbled forward toward the bed, as Sam moved aside to give him room. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he threw his arms around Danny, clinging to him as he tried to blink back the tears that came. The two men held each other for a long time, no one saying a word, until Tucker broke the silence, his voice hoarse and raspy. "Dude. I am _so_ glad to see you."

"Yeah. I missed you too, Tuck." Danny's voice was pretty gravelly-sounding, too.

Tucker finally released his friend and pulled back, quickly wiping his eyes under his glasses as he did so. "Don't ever do that again or, so help me, I will suck you into a Fenton Thermos myself. And… you look like hell, dude."

Danny laughed. It was a weak laugh, but it was _Danny's_ laugh. "Yeah, well, so do you. You sleep in that suit?"

"Pretty much. Congress has been in a marathon session for…" He glanced at his watch, still set to D.C. time. "Almost twenty hours."

"Yikes."

Nick snorted. "Our tax dollars at work."

Danny arched an eyebrow at Tucker. "And you left all that just to come see me?"

"Are you kidding? It was like getting a note from the principal's office excusing me from one of Lancer's classes. I owe you, buddy."

Danny paused for a minute, his face growing somber. "No. I owe you, Tuck. Big time."

Tucker frowned. "You owe me? For what?"

"Sam filled me in on some of the stuff going on the last few months." He reached out his hand to Sam, who clasped it in hers as Danny continued. "How… how you were there for her, especially when she first found out…"

Tucker slapped his forehead. "That's right! I finally get to congratulate you on the upcoming addition to the family. You excited?"

"Overwhelmed, but yeah."

"I get to be godfather, right?"

"Who else? I just…" Danny looked down, and his voice turned raspy again. "I'm so grateful that she had you through all of this."

"Correction. We had each other." Tucker placed his hand on top of Danny's and Sam's. "That's the way it works around here, remember? You're not my only best friend."

"I know."

There was a cough from behind them. "Uh… as much as I hate to interrupt this touching moment…" Valerie was still standing by the opening in the plastic curtains, her, arms crossed and her foot tapping, although the tears in her eyes belied her annoyed posture. "You're not the only one who came all the way across the Ghost Zone to see him, Tuck. You wanna make some room and let someone else get a turn?"

Danny grinned. "Move over, Tuck. She's _way_ better looking than you."

They all dropped hands as Tucker got up and stepped aside, standing next to Sam. Valerie slid into the place he'd vacated, pulling Danny into another long embrace. "I'm with Tucker, Phantom. You pull a stunt like this again, and I'm back to hunting your ass. You got me?"

"Got you."

As Valerie let go of him, Jazz gave her brother one of her patented overbearing-big-sister looks. "And they're not the only ones."

Nick, still standing with Dash near the curtain partition, nodded in agreement. "Hear, hear. I mean, do you have any idea what it's like being the only sane person working in the FentonWorks lab with your _parents_? Don't ever leave me alone like that again!" He gave a dramatic shudder, which earned him a pointed look from Jazz, but a snicker from Danny.

"Sorry about that." Then, Danny looked between Valerie and Tucker. "So, tell me. How was the wedding? It was last month, right?"

Valerie glanced up at Tucker, and he shuffled his feet a bit. "Uh…"

Danny's face fell. "Oh, no. Don't tell me…"

"They wimped out," Dash said when neither Tucker nor Valerie would speak.

Valerie put her hands on her hips. "We did not 'wimp out,' Dash Baxter!"

"And yet, I don't seem to remember a wedding."

"We're still together," Tucker quickly clarified to Danny, who looked crestfallen. "We just… we couldn't go through with it. Not without you."

Danny groaned, throwing his head back. "You have _got_ to be kidding me. Tell me you did not postpone your wedding just for me."

"Told you he'd hate it," Sam said to Tucker.

Valerie put her hand on Danny's arm. "It didn't feel right without you there, Danny. But now you're back. We'll have a wedding soon enough, and it will have been worth the wait."

Tucker moved back closer to the bed and slipped his arm around Valerie's shoulders. "You got that right. One with the _whole_ family."

Jazz drew nearer on Danny's other side. "Amen to that." Nick and Dash, too, stepped closer, standing at the foot of the bed and completing the circle around Danny.

Tucker looked around at the small group, with Danny in the middle of them, and a lump came to his throat. The center was restored and, for this one moment, he felt like everything was right with the world.


	49. The Ghost of Christmas Present: Part XII

_ **Amity Park  
December 23, 4:30 am CST** _

Jack, Maddie and Dr. Mihashi came in briefly to check on Danny and take another three more vials of blood, and Sam had to bite back her worry when they still didn't have any answers as to what exactly the Guys in White had done to him to make him so sick, or how they could get him better. He was alert and happy as he chatted with the others, who had dragged in chairs from the storage closet outside the Op-Center and pulled them around his bed to catch up, but Sam could tell he'd grown weaker in the hour and a half since he'd shown up in her entryway. She took solace in the fact that Dr. Mihashi hadn't yet put any limits on the number of visitors he could have although, as she retreated with the Fentons back to the main part of the Op-Center to run more tests, she did threaten to kick them all out in a little while when she would have to examine him again.

Danny grimaced at that. "Great. I get to be the only male in history whose primary care doctor is an obstetrician."

"Hey, don't complain." Tucker leaned in and gave him a conspiratorial wink. "She's _hot_." This earned him an elbow in the ribs from Valerie and an eye roll from Sam.

As they all talked, Sam sat as close to Danny's bedside as possible, never letting go of his hand. Touching him was the only way she could convince herself that he was really back, and that this wasn't just some dream that she'd wake up from to find him still gone.

For his part, Danny didn't seem to want to let go of her, either, and he kept looking at her as if he, too, needed to keep reminding himself that this was real and that they were finally together again. His eyes would often drift down to her abdomen, still sticking out through the open robe she hadn't yet bothered to change out of. Changing would mean going home, and that would mean leaving Danny—something she wasn't willing to do just yet, not even for a few minutes.

She wasn't alone in her need to stay close to him. Jazz's chair was pulled up against the wall at the head of his bed across from Sam, and she kept her hand on Danny's shoulder as if she were afraid he'd disappear if she didn't keep constant contact with him. Valerie and Tucker were both hovering, too, with Valerie next to Jazz and Tucker next to Sam, while Dash and Nick sat at the foot of the bed like twin sentries, their arms crossed as if daring someone to try to take Danny from them again.

A few minutes after Dr. Mihashi and the Fentons had left with the new blood samples, Patrick came in holding a baby monitor in his hand.

"Charley get to sleep?" Nick asked.

Patrick nodded. "Finally, poor kid. I put her down in the playpen in Jazz's old bedroom."

She gave him a grateful smile. "Thank you so much for taking care of her for us, Patrick."

He waved it off, then looked at Danny. "How's the man of the hour? Think you can handle more visitors?"

Danny's smile was a little more tired than Sam would have liked, but it was genuine. "Sure. We can always make room for you."

"Not just me. Someone else dropped by to say hello."

He stepped out of the way, and in walked Paulina, dressed and made up as impeccably as if it were seven o'clock in the evening instead of four-thirty in the morning. As her gaze fell on Danny, she froze for the barest of moments, a look of raw emotion crossing her features. Then, in the blink of an eye, it was gone, and what Sam had come to know as the Paulina Mask slipped into place. She flashed him her thousand-watt smile and rested her hand on her hip. "Well, well, look who's back. Inviso-Bill."

Danny blinked, and Sam could tell he'd been taken off guard by her unexpected visit. "Paulina? What are you doing here?"

"I came to see you. Duh."

"But how'd you know—?"

"Dash called me. So… what's with the new look? Haven't you ever heard of a razor?"

He cocked his head as if trying, but failing, to come up with a clever comeback. "Uh… yes?"

Sam rolled her eyes. "Glad to see five months in jail hasn't dulled that witty banter of yours."

Letting go of his hand, she started to get up out of her chair, but Paulina waved her off. "Don't get up. You need to stay off your feet. You're starting to get varicose veins." She came over to Sam instead and placed a hand on her shoulder.

Sam flashed her a sardonic grin. "Thank you for your concern." But she could tell from the grip on her shoulder that, despite the flippant attitude, Paulina was almost as overcome at seeing Danny as the rest of them. Sam covered Paulina's hand with her own in a gesture of solidarity.

Danny just sort of gaped at the two of them. "Did I come back into some alternate universe?"

Dash snorted. "Yeah, that's right. You were only here in the very beginning, when Paulina first started getting involved in the cause. You weren't around when she became Sam's new bestest friend."

Paulina gave a contemptuous wave of her hand. "Please. Elvira and I are so not best friends. She was smart enough to recognize my brilliance and hire me as field manager for her little foundation, but that hardly makes us _friends_." She made no move to remove her hand from Sam's shoulder, however.

Danny blinked at Sam again. "You _hired_ her?"

Sam rolled her eyes. "Don't look so surprised. I needed someone to run the campaign, and she's good at it so, yeah, I hired her. She's the one who came up with the black-and-white ribbon campaign." She didn't have a ribbon on her robe, so she pointed out the one pinned to Tucker's lapel. "Practically the whole town wears them in support of you and changing the anti-ecto laws, and there's a lot of demand for them nationwide, too. The 'I Believe' slogan was also Paulina's idea, although I guess you really should get the credit for that one."

"The what?" Danny put his hand to his forehead as if nursing a headache. "I feel like I'm about three steps behind here."

She gave him a gentle smile, removing her hand from Paulina's to take his again. "You're about five _months_ behind, but we'll catch you up. Let's just say Paulina's like Cordelia Chase on _Buffy the Vampire Slayer_. Under that shallow, vain, narcissistic exterior there's… well, more shallowness, vanity, and narcissism. But it almost kind of grows on you when she's actually fighting on your side."

Paulina yawned. "I think pregnancy has made you soft. The shallow thing is so played."

"I like to stick to the classics."

Danny looked back and forth between them. "The words sound the same and, yet, I still feel like I've landed in an episode of _The Twilight Zone_."

"It does take some getting used to," Valerie agreed.

"I dunno," Tucker said. "If Danny and Dash can be friends, anything's possible."

"I heard that, Foley." Dash gave Tucker a mock glare.

Nick turned to look up at Patrick. "Ever notice how it's like _Amity Park 46315_ whenever the Casper High alums get together? Kinda makes me glad I grew up somewhere else."

"You and me both." Patrick rolled his eyes.

Danny looked around at all of them. "Okay, _now_ I feel like I'm home."

A lump came to Sam's throat, and she saw another flash of emotion in Paulina as she addressed Danny again. "Well, I just wanted to come by and see for myself…" She trailed off, then coughed, the Paulina Mask slipping back into place as she became all business again. "But I should be going now. This is gonna change the whole direction of the campaign, and there are press releases to write—"

"No. No media, not yet," Sam said. "I don't want a press frenzy right now, especially since we don't know why the Guys in White did such an about-face and released him." She paused, suddenly feeling very, very, tired. "I'm so not ready to deal with this right now."

Paulina's voice softened. "I'll deal with it. Just tell me who I should notify."

Sam considered a moment. "Rob Collins. He'll need to know. Call him in a couple of hours and fill him in, then he can take care of everything that pertains to the case and notify whichever of the lawyers need to know. Oh, and there's supposed to be some conference call meeting with this D.C. lawyer who helped set up the Alliance to begin with. That's at seven this morning. I never did find out what that's about but, obviously, I won't be sitting in. Tell Rob he can decide if he still wants to go ahead with the call or postpone."

She nodded. "Anything else you need for me to take care of?"

"No… yes." Sam looked up at her. "Can you go see David later? I think it would do him a lot of good to know. Just tell him and his mom to keep it to themselves for now. When Danny's feeling better, we'll arrange a visit."

"Who's David?" Danny asked.

Sam gave him a gentle smile. "The kid from the train. He's been a really big help with the campaign. You should hear how he tells the story of how you saved him that night. It's really moving."

He looked like he didn't know what to say to that. "Oh."

"I'll go see him later this morning," Paulina told Sam, then turned to Danny. "Good to have you back, Ghost Boy."

When she left, Danny shook his head. "Still can't wrap my mind around you and Paulina so chummy."

Sam made a face. "We're not _chummy_. We just happen to have a common goal in this case, that's all. It's what you asked when you…" She swallowed. "When you left. For us to keep fighting. Remember?"

"Yeah, I remember. Thanks." He looked around. "To all of you."

"We're just glad you're back safe and sound, dude," Tucker said.

Danny winced. "I don't know about the 'sound' part. That's what the doctor's here to determine, I guess."

Sam bit her lip at the underlying dejection in his voice, remembering the conversation they'd had the last night she'd seen him, just before he'd rescued David from the train. _I miss my powers. I mean, I'm almost twenty-six, which means I've been a ghost for nearly half my life._ She knew it was killing him, the thought that maybe they'd found a way to get rid of his powers for good. It was ironic, really, considering he'd never wanted them in the first place and had even tried to make himself "normal" again back when he was a teenager. But after twelve years, they were as much a part of who he was as his penchant for really bad puns, the way he'd stutter when he got excited or nervous, or his fierce protectiveness over those he loved.

Sam, on the other hand, was worried enough about his human life that she'd gladly sacrifice the ghost powers so long as he were alive and well. Still, it wasn't what either of them really wanted, so she squeezed his hand again. "Don't worry about your powers. I'm sure your mom will find a way."

"Not if it's like what Vlad did to Danielle. If—" Then, he stopped, frowning. "Where is Danielle, anyway? Is she still up at Northwestern? You guys called her, right?"

Sam and Jazz exchanged looks across the bed, but Valerie slapped her forehead. "Oh, my gosh! I completely forgot to call Danielle!"

Confused, Sam cocked her head. "Call her? Wasn't she with you in D.C. when Nick called?"

Danny looked even more confused. "D.C.? Why would Dani be in D.C.?"

Ignoring Danny's question, Valerie answered Sam's instead. "It was supposed to be a surprise, but she flew back last night. When Tucker and I couldn't use our plane tickets, we convinced the airline to let us transfer mine over to her. She spent the night at the townhouse and was gonna come over here in the morning." She gave Danny a mock scowl. "She's gonna be _so_ mad at you for trumping her surprise."

Jazz gasped. "Are you serious? Dani came home, too?"

Valerie nodded, beaming, but Danny still looked confused. "I don't get it. Why was Dani in D.C.? Wasn't she in school at Northwestern? Or are they on Christmas break?"

"Uh…" Sam sighed. "She took a year off of school."

"What?"

"The guidance counselor recommended it. It was just… there was too much on her mind for her to focus on med school right now. She's planning on going back next fall, though. Right, Valerie?"

Valerie nodded again. "That's the plan." She stood up and pulled out her cell phone. "I've gotta call her. She is going to _kill_ me for not letting her know sooner." She stepped out through the plastic curtains so she could talk without bothering the rest of them.

"First Danny, and now Danielle." Jazz pressed her hands to her chin. "Is this is turning out to be an awesome Christmas, or what?"

Danny grunted in frustration. "Would somebody please explain why you're all so surprised Dani would come home for Christmas? And why was she in D.C. in the first place?"

Jazz's hands fell into her lap, and she looked down. "Uh… Dani sorta… hasn't spoken with any of the family since the night you were arrested."

"_What?"_

"It's my fault," Sam said softly.

Danny turned to her. "What's your fault?"

She sighed. "I lied to you that night, Danny. You asked me if Danielle was plotting anything, and I told you she wasn't, but it was a lie. I knew she was planning to try to stop them from taking you. Not… not at the house. That I wasn't expecting. But the next day, when you were going to turn yourself in. She wanted me to put the Specter Deflector on you so you couldn't fight back against her."

He gaped at her. "She _what_? Why didn't you tell me? I could've come back and talked to her before everything happened. I could've _stopped_ her."

Sam shook her head. "No, I don't think so. She would've just thought of something else, something neither one of us would've seen coming. This way, at least one of us was sort of prepared."

"Is that why you didn't tell me?" He looked skeptical.

Sam swallowed. "I… I don't really know. I guess… part of me wanted to leave open the option of stopping it. Of stopping _you_ from going through with turning yourself in. But when it came down to it, I couldn't do it. I saw how scared you were for her when she showed up, and I knew I couldn't do that to you. So I used the Specter Deflector on her instead."

She watched Danny as he absorbed this. Finally, he nodded. "Thank you. For stopping her before they figured it out."

"No." She felt terrible, ashamed for lying to him. "Don't thank me. I should've told you the truth."

"You saved her in the end, Sam. That's all that matters."

"Not to Dani. She blames me for your arrest. She hasn't spoken to me since that night, and she's been avoiding your family, too, because she thinks it's her fault, that you wouldn't have done what you did if you hadn't wanted to protect her. She couldn't face them because of that. She's been living with Valerie and Tucker for the past five months, and when Congress reconvened in September, she went to D.C. with them and hasn't been back since."

Danny grunted in irritation. "That's just _stupid_. I am so gonna smack some sense into that thick skull of hers when she gets here!"

"Don't, Danny. Just… let it be. If she's come home now…" Sam looked at Tucker. "She really came to see Maddie and Jack and everyone?"

He nodded, smiling at her. "You, too, Sam. Val said she wanted to see you, too."

She let out a long breath, one she felt like she'd been holding since that night. "I'm glad. I've missed her."

"We all have," Jazz agreed, her voice thick with emotion.

Valerie came back into the curtained-off area. "She's not answering her cell or the land line. I'm gonna have to go over there and drag her butt out of bed."

"You want me to come with?" Tucker asked.

"No, you stay here with Danny. Make sure he doesn't go anywhere." She gave Danny a look of warning. "_Or else_. I'll be back in a little bit."

Before she could leave, however, Dr. Mihashi came in with Danny's parents behind her. She put her hands on her hips and, in a commanding voice that belied her small size, began issuing directives. "Okay, everyone. I know you all have five months to catch up on, but I need to give Danny another exam, and then he should get some rest, so most of you are gonna have to go."

Sam gave her a questioning look, which the doctor answered with a gentle smile. "You can stay, Sam. Jack and Maddie, too, and maybe one other person. But four's the limit. The rest of you, out."

Dash, Patrick, and Nick said their good-byes and filed out after Valerie, who was anxious to go get Dani. Tucker started to get up as well, but Jazz stopped him. "No, Tuck. You stay. I'll wait downstairs. I should check on Charley anyway." She stood up to leave.

"But you're his sister."

"And you're _more_ than a brother. Not to mention the fact that you left in the middle of a session of Congress and flew across the Ghost Zone on the back of Valerie's sled to be here. You've earned it." She smiled at him, then leaned over and gave Danny a kiss on the top of his head.

"Ew!" Danny made a face at her, but Sam knew it was an act.

"You take care, little brother. I'm so…" She sighed, unable to finish.

"I know, Jazz. Me, too."

Once she was gone, Tucker sat back down next to Sam, and Danny's parents pulled up two of the vacated chairs on the other side of the bed while Dr. Mihashi did a quick examination.

"What's the verdict?" Danny asked when she'd finished.

"Well… hard to say. I don't generally treat male patients, obviously, and dealing with ghost DNA and the powers that come with it is still new to me. I really haven't put much thought into the repercussions beyond the fetal stage, actually, so bear with me."

Sam's brow furrowed. She'd known Dr. Mihashi long enough to know when she was concerned, and she looked concerned now. Not wanting to worry Danny, however, Sam didn't say anything, and the doctor left to go back to the main area of the Op-Center.

As soon as she was gone, Danny folded his arms and looked at his mother. "Okay, Mom. What's the story? I can tell something's not right."

Sam sighed. So much for not worrying him.

Maddie hesitated. "We're not sure, sweetie. There's definitely something in your blood that's attacking your system. It's almost like some sort of antibiotic that is treating your ghost DNA like a foreign invader that needs to be eradicated. The problem is, it's not a foreign invader; it's a part of who you are. So whatever they put in your system is not just attacking your ghost half, it's attacking _you_. That's why you're feeling weak."

"Define 'attacking.' Like a cold? Or like cancer?"

Jack and Maddie exchanged looks that made Sam bite her lip in apprehension. After a moment, Maddie answered. "It's serious. If we don't stop it, you're going to get very sick."

"It'll kill me, you mean."

Sam closed her eyes as Maddie answered. "We won't let it come to that, sweetie."

"What is it? Ectoranium?"

"We don't know. That's why Dr. Mihashi took more blood. We're going to try and isolate it so we can figure out how to treat it."

"Dude, I'm sure your mom'll fix it," Tucker said, but Sam could hear the false cheer in his voice, and when she opened her eyes, she could see it written on his face as well.

Jack put a meaty hand on his son's shoulder. "Tucker's right, son. Whatever it is, we're gonna find a way to fix it. This Dr. Mihashi is a good doctor, and your mother's a brilliant parabiologist. They'll get you better."

"Will you have to give me huge doses of Ecto-purifier, like you give Dani? Am… am I gonna lose my ghost powers for good?"

Maddie gave him a sad look. "Honey, we just don't know."

"I just… I don't wanna take too much Ecto-purifier. I don't wanna risk permanently ruining my ghost powers."

Sam clenched the fist that wasn't holding Danny's hand. "You'll take whatever you have to to get better." She surprised even herself with her vehemence.

"Sam—"

"Don't 'Sam' me, Danny Fenton. You are not going to endanger your life to save your ghost powers. You got me?"

He arched an eyebrow at her. "Aren't you the one who read me the riot act when I gave up my powers ten years ago? The one who said I wasn't me anymore without them?"

"Don't you dare throw that in my face! You know why I was mad at you for pulling that back then. It was a stupid, rash, sixteen-year-old-trying-to-shirk-his responsibilities thing to do, not a choice between your powers and your _life_! I've already gone through five months without you. Five months _pregnant_ without you. I don't care if you have to give up your ghost powers, your hair, two limbs and an eye—you will _not_ leave your son without a father! Do you understand me?"

"I…" He met her gaze, his blue eyes full of pain. "I am so sorry, Sam. I didn't mean… I'm not talking about taking it that far, okay? I wouldn't do that to you or the… or _our_ son." She could tell it felt weird for him to say that. "I just want to make sure we try and find some other way before we jump to something that'll take away half of who I am."

"Maybe Frostbite can help," Tucker suggested. "He's got a medical facility in the Far Frozen, right? You said he was the one who fixed you up when your ice powers first started kicking in and got outta control."

Maddie rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "That might be a good idea, Tucker." She looked at Danny. "Their sense of biology and healing is radically different from ours in the Human World. If it's your ghost DNA that's being attacked, then looking for a ghost solution might be our best option."

"So you won't just give me Ecto-purifier without trying Frostbite or something else first?"

"We'll do whatever we can to save _all_ of you, sweetie. I promise."

Danny let out a sigh and slumped back against his pillow. "Okay. That's all I can ask for."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Amity Park 46315_. A fictional zip code, but numerically close to the real-life communities in the part of Indiana around where I envision Amity Park to be.


	50. The Ghost of Christmas Present: Pt XIII

_ **Amity Park  
December 23, 5:30 am CST** _

Tucker tried not to be alarmed at how fast Danny deteriorated after everyone left. While Mr. and Mrs. Fenton and Dr. Mihashi ran his bloodwork through test after test in the main room of the Op-Center, he and Sam sat at Danny's bedside. After a little while, Danny fell asleep, and Tucker knew he should probably sneak in a catnap himself, seeing as he'd now been up for twenty-four hours. He was too worried to sleep, though. Sam was too, and she sat silently across from him, her lips pressed together as she watched Danny's chest rise and fall in a slow, steady rhythm.

Every few minutes, Tucker checked the C-SPAN feed on his phone to see what he was missing on the House floor. It was two hours since he'd left, and they'd only just now finished voting on the water bill—it had passed by a fairly wide margin—and were beginning debate on the flu shot bill. He couldn't focus on the proceedings, however, and his eyes kept drifting back to his friend, hoping to see some improvement, but every time he looked, Danny seemed to have lost a little more color. Now Tucker noticed with some concern that beads of sweat had formed on his brow. Sam was dabbing at it with the edge of her robe.

"He getting a fever?" Tucker asked her.

Sam shook her head, biting her lip as she pressed her hand to Danny's forehead. "It's a cold sweat. It feels like his body temperature has dropped ten degrees."

Tucker frowned. "That's not necessarily bad, though, right? For him, I mean. With his ice powers, his body temperature is normally really low. Isn't it?"

Sam shrugged. "He can intentionally lower it, yeah. But it isn't usually this low on its own."

Danny's parents came in to check on him, and the deep worry lines in both their faces did nothing to ease Tucker's apprehension. He looked up at Mrs. Fenton. "Do you know what they gave him yet? Can we _do_ something?"

She shook her head. "We almost have it isolated, but I don't think we can wait. He's getting sicker much faster than I anticipated."

"He's really cold. We need to take him to Frostbite," Sam said, and Mrs. Fenton nodded.

"I think that would be best."

Mr. Fenton looked grave. "I'll go throw some things in the Specter Speeder, then I'll come back up for him."

"I think Jazz and Nick are still here," Mrs. Fenton told him. "Let them know. I'm sure they'll want to come with us." When he left, she looked at Tucker. "Do you wanna come, too?"

"You know it. Although…" He looked at the time on his phone. "I should probably give Val a call and find out where she got off to. She was just supposed to wake Danielle up and bring her back here, but she's been gone almost an hour."

Mrs. Fenton frowned. They'd already told her about Danielle's surprise return, and now she looked worried at the delay. "I hope nothing's wrong—"

"How's the patient?" Dr. Mihashi came into the curtained-off area, unintentionally interrupting Mrs. Fenton.

"Cold, sweating, and really pale," Sam told her.

Dr. Mihashi came over and, pulling a forehead-scanning thermometer out of her lab coat pocket, swiped it across his forehead. Her eyes widened in alarm. "_Eighty-eight degrees_? That's moderate to severe hypothermia! How did—?"

Mrs. Fenton cut her off with a hand on her arm. "It's not as bad as it seems, Leanne. Danny's ice powers allow his body temperature to go abnormally low without endangering him. Of course, that's when his DNA isn't being attacked as a foreign invader but, still, I don't think he's actually suffering from hypothermia. He is getting sicker, though."

The doctor shook her head, then took his pulse. It eased some of her alarm, but not much. "His pulse seems relatively normal. But he is very cold." She looked to Mrs. Fenton. "You're the ghost expert. You don't think he should be treated like a normal patient with hypothermia?"

"No. We're going to take him to the Ghost Zone. There's a… sort of community of Yeti-like creatures there. They are very intelligent and have advanced medical-type facilities, and their ice powers are like Danny's. They'll have a better idea of how to treat him than we do."

"Well… all right. That's probably a good idea."

"I don't suppose you can arrange to be away from your other patients for a little while so you can come with us? I would feel better if a human MD was there to work with the ghosts."

She looked torn between wonder and fear—an expression Tucker had seen before on those contemplating their first visit to the Ghost Zone. "You want me…? Is it _safe_?"

Sam looked up at her. "Reasonably safe. Even more so if you're with me. Most of the ghosts have sort of an injunction against hurting me while I'm pregnant. And tomorrow's Christmas Eve. From sundown Christmas Eve to sundown Christmas Day, they observe a truce. Sort of the Ghost Sabbath. Yeah, I know. It's bizarre," she added when Dr. Mihashi blinked at her.

"We should teach a class in Ghost Culture at Amity Park Community College," Tucker said with a snort.

Dr. Mihashi still looked torn. "I'm… not sure. I've never considered… although… I could get my clinic partners to cover for me for a day or two, and it would be an incredible opportunity to gain new knowledge on ecto physiology…"

Mr. Fenton appeared at the opening in the plastic curtains. "Okay. Nicky took Charley home, and Jazz is adjusting one of the Speeder seats to make it recline enough for Danny to lie down on. Are we about ready?"

"Yeah, we're just—" Mrs. Fenton stopped as she noticed some papers in Mr. Fenton's hand. "Are those the lab results?"

"What? Oh, yeah." He handed the papers over to her. "Pulled 'em off the printer when I came up."

Mrs. Fenton looked at the sheet, frowning over what she saw there. "I should've known. This will be hard to flush out of his system. I hope Frostbite knows something we don't."

"Is it ectoranium?" Sam asked, the reference to the anti-ghost element that had ruined Danielle's ghost powers reminding Tucker once more that Valerie was taking an awfully long time getting her.

Mrs. Fenton shook her head. "No. It's Umbranol. A chemical compound derived from the _florum cruentus_ plant."

Sam, an avid gardener with a backyard greenhouse that contained a rather extensive collection of rare and exotic plants, tilted her head, quizzical. "_Florum cruentus_? I've never heard of—" She stopped. "Wait. _Cruentus_? Blood? Are you talking about blood blossom?"

"That's an archaic name but, yes. _Florum cruentus_ was once known as blood blossom."

Tucker shuddered, remembering when he had to eat a huge number of the putrid red and black flowers to save Danny from their anti-ghost properties. "They injected him with those nasty things? No wonder he's so sick."

"Well, Umbranol is a much more complex compound than the flowers themselves," Mrs. Fenton explained. "It's actually significantly more potent, and lethal to ecto-based beings."

Mr. Fenton rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "We experimented with Umbranol about ten years ago, didn't we Maddie? Back when I was working on Ecto-Dejecto?"

"Yes, but it wasn't what we used in any of the versions we tested. The chemical reactions were too unstable, and we didn't have the technology or the knowledge back then to make it sustainable in liquid form, remember? That came two years later, but by then we'd… softened our anti-ghost stance." She directed a wistful look towards her son. "Umbranol was just too toxic. But the process we developed to stabilize it in liquid form was the same one that I used to make the ghost shield serum that Sam takes to prevent the baby from phasing out of her."

Tucker rubbed the bridge of his nose, confused. "Hold up. Sam's taking the same thing as whatever they shot up Danny with?"

"Oh, no, definitely not!" Mrs. Fenton looked horrified. "Umbranol would be poisonous to the baby. She'd almost certainly have a miscarriage if she were injected with even a few CCs. No, the _process_ used to create the serum is the same, but the drug itself is completely different. Umbranol—"

"Not… Umbranol. Fluumbrazin."

They all looked at Danny, who was awake—barely—and listening to the discussion.

"What?" his mother asked.

"I… only just remembered. I heard them… sometimes… when they thought I was… unconscious. They called it… Fluumbrazin."

Tucker's brow furrowed. He'd heard that word somewhere before, but with his brain going on twenty-five hours with no sleep, he couldn't figure out where. Mrs. Fenton looked confused as well, but Dr. Mihashi had a deep frown etched into her face as. "Fluumbrazin? That can't be right. Maddie, can I see the lab results?"

Danny's mom handed her the papers. "Have you heard of it?"

She didn't answer, instead examining the report. Then, she looked up. "I need to check something." She went over to the corner where a computer was set up. "Does this have internet access?"

"Sure does," Mr. Fenton replied.

"What is it, Leanne?" Mrs. Fenton followed her over to the computer.

While they were doing that, Tucker and Sam turned their attention to Danny. Sam offered him a drink of water from a cup and straw by his bedside. He took only a small sip, then lay back against the pillow.

Tucker winced. "Hey, dude. We didn't know you were awake. How you feeling?"

Danny gave him a wan smile. "Standard… question?"

"Pretty much." Tucker put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Hang in there, okay? We're gonna take you to see Frostbite real soon."

In the corner, he could hear Dr. Mihashi let out a breath in disbelief. "He's right. It _is_ Fluumbrazin. But how could a simple flu vaccine be made out of a substance so toxic to ghosts?"

Tucker's eyes widened, his head jerking up as his gaze locked on Sam's. "Flu vaccine?" Then, he remembered where he'd heard the name before. Fluumbrazin was the new vaccine at the center of the bill being debated on the House floor at that very moment. He turned to Dr. Mihashi. "Are you saying this Umbranol stuff is in the new flu vaccine?"

"Not _in_ the vaccine. It _is_ the vaccine. It's the exact same chemical compound, just with a different brand name."

Tucker looked back at Sam, smashing his fist down on his knee. "I _told_ you! I knew they were using one of those bills to do an end run! Only, instead of just testing for ghost DNA, they're going straight to _poisoning_ the ghost out of anyone who might be 'contaminated'!" He jumped out of his seat and went over to Dr. Mihashi and the Fentons. "You said if Sam took that shot, it'd kill the baby?"

Mrs. Fenton looked pale. "That's right. And this is something they want to recommend to the general population as a _flu vaccine_?"

"Not just recommend, Mrs. F. They wanna _mandate_ it. No exceptions. They claim it's non-allergenic."

"It is non-allergenic. " Dr. Mihashi look perplexed. "I've seen the studies."

"Somehow, I doubt they included ghosts—or half-ghosts—in their clinical trials."

Behind him, Danny grunted weakly. "What…are you…?"

"Shh. Save your energy." Sam put a hand on his chest to stop him. "Ever since you revealed your identity, showing them that it was possible for humans to be part ghost, the anti-ecto forces have been trying to get some sort of genetic testing bill through Congress, requiring everyone to undergo DNA testing for 'ecto contamination.' It failed, and when the new Congress convenes after the New Year, they'll have lost the majority. Tucker's been saying for a while that he thought they were gonna use this end-of-session push to try and slip something in, and this looks like it's it. There's a bill before the House today that would mandate everyone in the country getting this flu vaccine."

Danny's eyes widened. "Danielle…"

"It would be worse for her than you," his mother confirmed. "Her ecto-immune system is already compromised."

"What about Valerie?" Tucker asked Mrs. Fenton. "Her DNA has been altered, too. Not like Danny's, but…"

"I… I think it's likely she'd get very sick at least, yes."

"And the Casper High students who got bit by those ghost bugs our freshman year? Or the people in town who got tapped by Undergrowth's Mind Vine? How would it affect them?"

Mrs. Fenton shrugged. "There's no way of knowing without doing a study. I doubt it would kill any of us outright, but it might make us ill."

Tucker had a horrifying thought. "Wait. I _ate_ some of those blood blossoms once!"

"You ate blood blossoms? Why on earth—?"

"Long story, Mrs. F. Made me queasy and sent me to the bathroom every five minutes, but it didn't make me _sick_. Although… that was before the Undergrowth thing, and I was never bitten by those ghost bugs…"

"There's a big difference between ingesting _florum cruentus _and having the more potent distillation Umbranol injected into your bloodstream. It's still possible that your long-term exposure to ecto energies in all its various forms, including the high number of times you've visited the Ghost Zone itself, could cause at least some sort of reaction. It just depends on how integrated into our own systems the ecto elements are."

Mr. Fenton narrowed his eyes, his jaw clenched in anger. "Then anyone who had any kind of reaction to this vaccine could automatically be flagged by the Guys in White. They could quarantine the whole town. Put us under lockdown."

"This is so much worse than the DNA testing bill." Tucker pulled his phone out of his pocket to check C-SPAN. Debate on the bill had just begun in the House, but when he flipped over to the Senate channel, he swore under his breath. "Senate already passed it. Forty-nine to forty-seven." He thumbed the switch to go from online browser to cell phone mode. "I gotta get back to D.C. right away and make sure this thing fails. Mrs. F. How fast could you write up a report on what this stuff'll do? Could you e-mail it to me in fifteen minutes or less?"

"Of course."

"And CC my administrative assistant," he added, rattling off her e-mail address even as he dialed her cell phone number. He'd sent her and other members of his staff home around midnight, right before he'd called Sam what seemed like a lifetime ago, but his key staff members would remain on-call until Congress adjourned. "Allison, wake up," he barked when a groggy voice answered on the fourth ring. "I need you to get down to the Capitol right away. In your PJs if you have to. The House is still in session, and I'm in Amity Park."

"You're _where_?" Even over the phone he could hear the confusion in her voice. "How did that happen in the… six hours since I left?"

"Long story. I need to get word to one of the representatives on our side of the ecto debate. Chris Sanders, Andrew Martin, Colleen Kath. Anyone. The flu vaccine bill is an end run. The new vaccine is made out of an anti-ecto drug called Umbranol. There's no telling what it could do to people who've been 'contaminated' with ecto-energy."

"_What?_ Sir, what are you talking about?"

Tucker growled at the back of his throat. "I don't have time to explain it, Allison. Just… get down there and find someone who can call for the bill to be tabled. Or find someone who's scheduled to speak against the bill who'll yield their time to me."

"How am I supposed to do that? All the pages are gone already, and I'm not allowed on the floor—" She paused. "Wait. Did you say you want someone to yield their time to you? Didn't you just say you're in Amity Park?"

"Never mind what I said. I'll be back on the Hill in less than half an hour. In the meantime, you'll be getting an e-mail from Maddie Fenton with a report. Get that into everyone's hands you can. I don't care how you do it."

"Yes, sir. I'll do my best."

"Okay. I'll be there as soon as I can." He hung up the phone.

Mrs. Fenton frowned at him. "How are you going to get there in half an hour?"

"Hopefully, the same way I got here in the first place." He turned to Mr. Fenton. "The Porta-Portal we used to get here. If we use it to get back, would it lead back to the same spot in the Human World where we opened it in the first place?"

"You'll have to open it where you entered the Ghost Zone. Then, it should spit you back into the Human World where you left, yes."

"Good. Then Valerie—" He slapped his forehead with the palm of his head. "Oh, _man_! Valerie! Where the _heck_ did that girl get off to?" He thumbed the speed dial for Valerie's cell, but only got her voice mail. Hanging up, he bit back another curse. "As if we didn't have enough problems. I'm gonna have to go get her."

"Jazz's car is here," Mr. Fenton told him. "She and Nick came separately. I'm sure she'll let you borrow it. She's down in the lab."

"Good idea." He turned around and looked at Danny, who was still awake but seemed a little out of it. "You hang tight, you got me? I'll come see you in the Far Frozen when I'm done, and you'd better…" A lump in his throat stopped him.

Danny gave him a weak smile. "I'll be… fine, Tuck."

He clasped his friend's hand a moment, swallowing over the lump, then turned to Sam. "I'm probably gonna have to go public with the fact that he's back."

She nodded. "Whatever you have to do. I trust you completely."

He leaned over and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Take care of him."

"Always. And Tuck… give 'em hell."

"You know it." He turned and dashed out of the Op-Center and into the pneumatic tube exit, but he must've taken the wrong one, because it spit him out in the Fentons' bedroom instead of the kitchen. He ran out into the hallway and down the stairs, taking them two at a time, intending to go down to the basement to find Jazz, but as he hit the bottom stair, the front door open and in walked Valerie.

Tucker skidded to a stop, almost crashing into her. "Valerie! There you are! I was just coming to find you! What took you—never mind. No time. I need you to take me back to D.C. on your sled."

She blinked, confused. "You… wait. You're _asking_ for a ride on my sled?"

"It's the only way to get back in time."

"In time for what?"

"The thing they poisoned Danny with? It's the _flu vaccine_. The one they're gonna mandate for everyone if I don't get back there and stop the vaccine bill from passing."

"_What?"_

He grabbed her arm, pulling her towards the basement. "No time, Val. We gotta go."

"Tucker, wait!" She dug in her heels, stopping him from dragging her further. "We have another problem."

"We don't have time for any other problems, Val!"

"Tucker, Danielle is missing!"

He turned around. "She's what?"

"She's missing. She wasn't at home. Hadn't been there at all. So I called the airline. It took the better part of an hour to get someone who would give me the passenger information, but… she never got on the plane."

"She never got on the plane? Well, where is she, then? You dropped her off at the airport more than twelve hours ago. If she chickened out, why didn't she come home?"

"I don't know." Valerie looked distraught. "She's not answering her cell, there's no answer at the apartment in Alexandria, the Queequeg's where she works isn't open yet… I can't think of anyone else to call. I was supposed to be looking out for her, Tuck!"

He sighed. "She's an adult, Val, not a little kid."

"Physically. But sometimes, I swear that girl thinks like the eleven-year-old she really is." Valerie closed her eyes. "What am I supposed to tell Danny?"

"I…" Tucker scrubbed his face with his hand. "You're not gonna tell him anything right now. He's too sick. His folks and Sam are about to take him to the Far Frozen to see if Frostbite can get rid of the stuff they pumped into him. Just… take me back to D.C. You can go back to Alexandria and see if she went home and just isn't answering the phone. If she's not there, search her room. Hack into her computer if you have to. You hunt ghosts for a living, and she's a half-ghost. And she's _Dani_. You'll find her."

"Tucker…"

He took her by the shoulders and looked her in the eye. "Val. You'll find her."

She nodded, and together, they ran down into the basement to the Fenton Portal and the Ghost Zone beyond.


	51. The Ghost of Christmas Present: Part XIV

_ **Washington, D.C.  
December 23, 7:00 am EST** _

As Mr. Fenton had predicted, when they opened a portal back to the Human World from the place near the Realm of the Far Frozen where they'd entered the Ghost Zone just two and a half hours earlier, it spit them back out into the tunnel that ran between the Rayburn House Office Building and the Capitol Building. Valerie didn't kill the throttle on the sled until they were out of the tunnel and in the Capitol Building itself, but at least this time Tucker was ready for it and wasn't thrown off the sled when she stopped. He pulled off his helmet and gave her a quick kiss. "Good luck finding Dani. I'll call you as soon as we're through."

"Take those bastards down, Tuck."

"You know it."

She took off again, going back the way they'd come, towards the Rayburn Office Building, where there would be fewer Capitol Police to scare with her sled. Tucker ran in the opposite direction, up towards the second floor and the House Chamber.

When he got there, he found a small crowd of staffers, Capitol Police, the Sergeant at Arms, and his administrative assistant, Allison Erin. When she saw him approaching, she rushed over. "Mr. Foley! I got the report about ten minutes ago, and I've e-mailed it to every representative on our side of the ecto debate, but there hasn't been a recess, so I haven't been able to talk to anyone."

"It's okay. I'll take it from here. Did you print out any hard copies, by any chance?" She thrust a file folder with a thick stack of papers into his hands and he smiled at her. "You so seriously rock, Al. Thanks for being on the ball this early in the morning."

"It only took two pots of coffee."

Tucker headed for the door to the House Chamber, and the Sergeant at Arms gave him an odd look. "I thought you had a family emergency."

"I did. Now I have a bigger one here. If you'll excuse me…" He brushed past and, with a deep breath, entered the Chamber.

As he entered, Colleen Kath from Michigan was speaking. She was arguing against the flu vaccine bill, a fact Tucker only was able to surmise from knowing her and not from anything she was saying, because he caught just a few words before his entrance caused a minor disturbance. The Speaker of the House looked at him, her eyes widening in surprise, and Tucker coughed. "Madam Speaker, will the gentlewoman from Michigan yield to me?"

The Speaker held up her hand before Representative Kath could reply. "I was under the impression that the gentleman from Indiana was excused to attend to a family emergency and was en-route home."

"Yes, ma'am, that is correct, but an urgent matter regarding the current bill under debate has come to my attention. Will the gentlewoman from Michigan yield to me?"

Again, Colleen tried to respond, but the Speaker, clearly irritated with Tucker, stopped her once more. "The gentleman from Indiana has been excused for a family emergency!"

Forgetting all decorum and procedural rules, Tucker shot back, "Which is directly related to the bill under consideration! The flu vaccine in question—Fluumbrazin—is actually a highly caustic anti-ecto chemical compound known as Umbranol." He held up the file folder in his hand. "I have a report from Dr. Madeline Fenton, who holds Ph.D.s in the fields of parabiology and chemistry and is one of the nation's foremost experts on ecto physiology. Umbranol, or Fluumbrazin, might well be toxic to individuals who have had extreme or unusual exposure to ecto energy. The DNA testing measure that this body voted down several weeks ago would have merely pinpointed humans with ecto markers in their genetic profile. The flu vaccine will instead _attack_ the systems of such individuals. People could get sick. They could _die_."

The Speaker pounded her gavel on the podium. "The gentleman from Indiana is out of order! The report from the FDA, which shows quite clearly that the Fluumbrazin vaccine is non-allergenic and safe for all humans, has already been entered into the record. But perhaps the gentleman from Indiana does not know this because he was _excused from the floor_!"

"I've seen the FDA report. The question is, how exactly does it define 'human'? Because it fails to mention that, in addition to the documented studies, the vaccine was secretly tested on an individual whose DNA was altered by ecto-energy and, as you will see in Dr. Fenton's report, it is…" Tucker swallowed. "It might be killing him."

"What individual?" Colleen Kath blurted out before the Speaker could stop her.

"Danny Phantom."

This caused a murmur on the floor, and the Speaker pounded her gavel, but Colleen ignored her, gasping in shock. "_What?_ How could you know that? Isn't he being held incommunicado?"

"He was released a few hours ago."

The murmur around him turned into an uproar as the Speaker continued to pound her gavel, then shouted to be heard over the din. "The gentleman from Indiana is out of order, and the gentlewoman from Michigan will refrain from addressing other members and direct her comments solely to the Speaker!"

The crowd settled somewhat, and Representative Kath inclined her head, but her eyes looked less than repentant. "My apologies, Madam Speaker." Before the Speaker could respond, however, she added, "I yield my time to the gentleman from Indiana."

The Speaker looked back and forth between Tucker and Colleen, glaring at both of them. Then, with a sigh, she pounded her gavel once more. "The gentleman from Indiana has the floor."

* * *

The sky was rapidly lightening as Valerie steered her sled over the streets of Washington towards Alexandria, trying to quell the sick feeling in her stomach. Why _now_? Why would Danielle disappear at the exact same moment that Danny had been so unexpectedly returned to them? She tried to chalk it up to coincidence. Dani had chickened out on going back to Amity Park and hadn't wanted to face Valerie afterwards, so instead of coming home, she'd gone… where? She hadn't really made any friends in Alexandria or D.C. She had a part time job at a Queequeg's coffee shop two blocks away from their apartment, and was a volunteer tour guide at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, but she'd kept her coworkers and fellow volunteers at arm's length, mostly in an effort to stave off questions about her famous "cousin" and his arrest. When she wasn't working or volunteering, she spent much of her time at the Library of Congress trying to keep up with her medical studies so that she wouldn't be too far behind when she went back to school in the fall.

_There are plenty of places to go_, Valerie told herself as she raced home. Bars, clubs, twenty-four-hour internet cafés. The malls and shops were open late for last-minute Christmas shopping, too. She could've gone anywhere to wait for Congress to adjourn and Valerie and Tucker to leave D.C. so she wouldn't have to admit that she'd been unable to follow through.

But the very night Danny came back? Valerie swallowed, clamping down on any thoughts that there could be some connection. The Guys in White didn't know about Danielle. They _couldn't_. It was just _coincidence_. Valerie would get home and find her asleep in the spare room—her room. Valerie would wake her up, she'd apologize for chickening out, and Valerie would interrupt to tell her the good news, that Danny was back, and they'd all go back to Amity Park—no, the Ghost Zone. The Fentons were taking him to Frostbite. They'd meet him there in the Realm of the Far Frozen, and everything would be fine.

She wasn't surprised, however, to find the apartment empty and exactly as she'd left it nearly three hours earlier after getting the phone call from Nick. She went straight to Dani's room and turned on the desktop computer, then went through the closets and dressers while she waited for it to boot up. Nothing seemed out of place. Most of her clothes were gone, packed into the suitcase she'd brought with her to the airport. Her books were gone, too. Valerie had convinced her to take them, hoping that the reunion with the Fentons would go well and she'd stay with them in Amity Park after Christmas.

_Don't wait for me and Tucker, okay?_ she'd told Dani at the airport. _Go see the Fentons first thing tomorrow morning. They really miss you. Maddie and Jack—_

She'd nodded. _I know._

_And Sam. You'll see Sam? She misses you, too, Dani. You know that, right?_

_Yeah. And… I get what she did and why she did it. I do._

_Then tell her, okay? These last five months have been so hard on her._

_I know. I want… I'll make it up to her, Val. And Jack and Maddie and Jazz and everyone. I promise. _Then, she'd thrown her arms around Valerie's neck. _I love you so much, Valerie. Thank you for everything._

Valerie bit her lip, pushing back on the uneasy feeling again. It hadn't been a good-bye. She was emotional about the prospect of seeing her family again, about speaking to them for the first time in five months, that's all. And that's why she didn't get on the plane, because she was afraid of seeing them after so long. She _wasn't_ saying good-bye!

A musical trill indicated that the computer had finished booting up, and Valerie seated herself at the desk and started looking through Dani's files. She wasn't sure what she was looking for—anything that would indicate she'd been planning something, that she had somewhere else to go. Valerie found nothing, not in any of the file folders, not in her e-mail, not anywhere. She even hacked into the security section and did a scan for deleted files, but there was nothing.

The only thing she did find that troubled her was that Dani's internet browser history showed that she rather frequently viewed the security video from the night Danny was arrested. Why she would want to see it even once, let alone daily, was beyond Valerie, who herself was more familiar with the thing than she would have liked.

She and Tucker had been the first ones Sam had called that night after Danny was taken away. While Tucker stayed at Sam's side and helped her call the rest of the family, Valerie had taken care of Danielle, bringing her back to the townhouse to keep her from going off and doing something stupid. Later that morning, after Dani had finally fallen asleep, Tucker had returned with a copy of the security video that had recorded everything from the feds' initial entry into Danny and Sam's home until the point where Sam had gotten up and turned off the camera. Together, Valerie and Tucker pored over every frame, looking for anything that showed Dani using her ghost powers. Sam had vowed to destroy the video if there was even a hint of evidence that Dani was anything other than fully human, despite the fact that she would be disbarred if anyone ever found out. Fortunately, Dani was either off-camera or there was too much haze to see anything. Even when Tucker ran it through an extensive enhancement program, there was nothing on the video that indicated that she had used anything other than standard ecto-weapons.

That had been fortunate, because the video had become one of their greatest weapons against the Guys in White and their supporters in the days and months that followed. It had run on every news channel, was posted on every video file sharing site on the internet, and when the anti-ecto politicians tried to justify the Guys in White and their extreme use of force, it cost a great number of them the election.

Still, it was an awful, gruesome thing that Valerie couldn't stand to watch, and she avoided doing so whenever she could. She found it disconcerting, then, that Danielle, who had lived through the ordeal, would spend so much time dwelling on it. Was she looking for something? Was she using it to feed her anger at Sam or, conversely, to try and understand why Sam did what she did? Or was she trying to hone her rage at the Guys in White themselves? That last thought concerned Valerie the most, although if Danielle had made some sort of ill-advised attack on the Guys in White for revenge or to try and get Danny back, surely it would have been all over the news by now. And Danny hadn't been freed in some sort of rescue attempt. He'd been _released_.

Frustrated, Valerie considered what to do next. If Danielle wasn't here and wasn't in Amity Park, then where could she be? Valerie wasn't even sure where to start looking. She checked the clock on the bottom corner of the computer and saw that it was about ten 'til eight. The Queequeg's where Dani worked opened at seven. It was possible she could have gone there. They did have free internet access, and she'd had both her phone and her tablet with her…

Valerie frowned. _Her tablet._ Danielle did a lot of her web surfing on her tablet, which could explain why Valerie didn't find anything on her desktop computer. She shook her head. No point in ruminating about what she couldn't check out. She needed to just get out there and _look_ for her.

She went to close the browser, but a news alert caught her attention. _Danny Phantom Released? Indiana congressman claims famed half-ghost home, but in failing health due to anti-ghost chemical in new flu vaccine. Related story: Mandatory flu vaccine bill fails House as marathon session comes to a close._

Valerie smiled. _Way to go, Tuck. _At least that was one piece of good news. Now she just had to find Dani. Maybe she'd already seen the news and was on her way home…

Powering down the computer, Valerie grabbed her coat and headed out again. She ran through places to go as she started down the porch steps of her apartment building, pulling her coat around her against the cold December air. She'd start at Queequeg's, then hit a few of Dani's other hangouts—

"Excuse me, Ms. Gray? May I have a moment of your time?"

Valerie stopped on the steps as a tall, lean Hispanic man in his forties, wearing an expensive-looking leather trench coat, approached her. She pasted on a smile. "I'm sorry, but if you have any questions for the congressman, you'll have to speak with him at the Capitol like the rest of the press." She continued down the steps and turned away as she reached the sidewalk.

The man followed behind her. "No, no. I'm not a reporter, Ms. Gray. My name is Miguel Sanchez. I'm an attorney. I represent Danielle Fenton."

Valerie stopped short, her heart squeezing in her chest as she whirled around to glare at him. "You represent … _what_? Why on earth would Danielle Fenton need an _attorney_?"

He stepped forward, holding out a thin, white, letter-sized envelope. "She asked me to give this to you. It will explain everything."

"Explain what?" Valerie took the envelope from him, but didn't look at it. "What's going on? Do you know where she is?"

"The letter will explain—"

"_Where is Danielle?"_ It was everything she could do to keep from grabbing the man by his lapels and shaking him.

He gave her a sympathetic smile. "She's a courageous girl, Ms. Gray. It's been an honor working with her the last few months. Her letter will explain. And…" He reached into his coat, pulling out several more letter envelopes and one large manila one. "I assume you'll be returning to Amity Park soon? I was wondering if I could trouble you to pass these along to her family as well? The large one contains copies of all the legal documents. I've already messengered copies to Samantha Fenton's attorneys, and I'll be having a conference call with them in…" He looked at his watch, frowning. "Ooh. In about five minutes. I'd better get a move on." He faced Valerie again. "But I assume Mrs. Fenton has a little too much on her plate right now to sit in, so please give these to her for me. Everything she'll need is in that file."

Valerie frowned as she took the other envelopes. The large envelope had a printed address label with Sam's name and the address of the Human-Ecto Alliance on it, but she recognized Dani's neat scrawl on each of the five letter-sized envelopes. _Valerie. Jack &amp; Maddie. Jazz. Sam. Danny._ Valerie gasped, her eyes narrowing as she looked up at the lawyer. "There's one for Danny. How could she—?"

"The letter explains everything, Ms. Gray. Now, if you'll excuse me, I really don't want to keep Mrs. Fenton's attorneys waiting." And before she could ask any more questions, he turned and walked away.

Shoving all the envelopes but the one with her name on it into her own coat pocket, Valerie took the one addressed to her and tore it open. Inside were three pages, computer-printed, single-spaced. Her heart pounding, she began to read.

* * *

It was a good forty-five minutes later before Valerie found herself climbing the House steps on the east side of the Capitol Building, barely aware of how she'd gotten there. Congress had finally ended the session, and reporters were milling around, interviewing various members. She caught sight of Tucker near the top of the steps, surrounded by reporters, and she headed slowly in that direction. There was no need to rush. There wasn't anywhere to rush _to_. Certainly not back into the Ghost Zone, where she would have to face Danny with only a letter to explain how she'd completely and utterly failed him and Danielle.

She waited off to the side and below Tucker and his knot of reporters, just close enough that she could hear the questions about Danny's return and about the flu vaccine, but her thoughts were too scattered to really listen to Tucker's answers. It wasn't long, however, before he spotted her. An anxious look crossed his features before he schooled them into the somewhat tired but polite expression he was giving the press. He quickly wrapped up the questions, directing them instead to his press secretary, who was standing behind him. He then excused himself and hurried to Valerie's side.

"What's wrong?" He took her by the shoulders. "Did… did something happen to Danny?"

Valerie could only nod, unable to stop the tears now wetting her cheeks.

"Is he…?"

She blinked. _He?_ Then, she shook her head as she realized the misunderstanding. "No, not Danny. Da_ni_. Tucker, she…" Unable to speak anymore, she just handed him the three-page letter that had been addressed to her.

Confused, Tucker took it from her and started to read. He barely got halfway through the first page before he let out a long breath of air and pulled her into his arms. "Oh, baby. I am _so_ sorry."

As he held her, the last of her reserves crumbled, and she buried her head in his shoulder, sobbing in his arms. She was dimly aware that they'd attracted attention from the press, and she felt more than heard Tucker wave them off as he put himself between her and them, shielding her from view. "Come on, Val. Let's go somewhere a little more private." He guided her down the stairs, then they ducked around the corner and under an archway, leaving his press secretary and a few other members of his staff to handle the press.

Not that she cared. They'd all know soon enough.

When she regained enough control to speak again, she pulled back just enough to look up at him. "I was supposed to look out for her," she whispered. "To protect her."

"Valerie, she's not a child. You can't protect her forever, and you can't keep her from doing what she felt she needed to do."

"Everything Danny did, everything he went through—it was all for _nothing_."

"No, it wasn't for nothing. And what Danielle did won't be for nothing, either." He took her chin in his hand. "I promise you, Val. It won't be for nothing."

"But look at what they did to him! If they could make _him_ so sick… She's not as strong as he is!"

"She's obviously stronger than any of us gave her credit for. Val… look at me." He guided her chin gently back again as she tried to turn away. "After what happened to Danny, and the report from Mrs. Fenton, not to mention the whole flu virus scam, the public outcry is gonna be _massive_. They just put the last nail in their own coffin, and we're gonna hammer it home."

It didn't help. "How could she do this? _Why_, Tucker?"

"Oh, baby, you know why." He shook his head and offered her a sad smile. "She's her father's daughter."

"This is gonna break his heart, Tuck. All he wanted was to protect her. How am I supposed to tell him I let her do this?"

"You didn't 'let' her do anything. She's twenty-three and stubborn and is gonna do whatever she thinks is right, no matter what anyone else says." He dabbed at the tears on Valerie's cheek with the back of his finger. "After all, she's her mother's daughter, too."


	52. Drabble: Connection

_ **August  
Two years after the accident  
Age 16** _

There was something about that girl. Valerie couldn't explain it, but she'd felt a… connection, from the first moment she'd seen her on the street, palming apples to keep from starving.

That was before she knew the girl was part ghost.

Valerie couldn't quite wrap her mind around that concept. Or the fact that Vlad Masters, her own benefactor, was also part ghost. Oh, but he'd pay for using her. And for hurting the kid, too. Because even if she was part ghost (and even if Phantom, of all beings, was her role model), there was still… something about her.


	53. Danielle: Part IV

_ **May  
Two and a half years after the accident  
Age 16** _

Danny sat completely still, fighting the urge to bang his sneakers against the Op-Center counter he and Sam were sitting on as he watched her digest the news. His stomach felt like it had packed its bags and taken up residence in his throat while he waited to see how she'd respond.

Mostly, she just looked shell-shocked, her eyes wide and her face ashen. Her lips moved as if trying to form words that wouldn't come, and it felt like hours or maybe days before she finally got them out. "Dani's your…? Oh… wow. That's… _wow_."

"Yeah."

Sam blinked. "Why does that seem so much huger than her being a clone?"

He shrugged, swallowing over his rebellious stomach. "Because a clone is like a twin. Like a sister. An equal, not a… responsibility. And it's so… sci-fi. A daughter is so… _real_. Even if I didn't… even if it's not my fault, she's here and she's my daughter." After a few days of knowing, he was stumbling over the word less. _My daughter._ "And my responsibility. She… this… it changes everything."

"Yeah, it really does, doesn't it?" Sam nodded in agreement. Then, apparently noticing his anxiety, she switched to shaking her head. "Oh... but not between us, Danny." She took his hand in hers. "Whatever this means for you, I'm with you, one hundred percent."

Danny released a breath he hadn't even realized he'd been holding, surprised by how much he'd needed to hear her say it out loud. Even if she couldn't really help shoulder the responsibilities that were his alone, just knowing she was there—that she would still be there despite all the weirdness that was his life—helped drain off a little of the tension. Not that he really expected anything else, not from her. "I… Thanks, Sam."

Still holding his hand, she looked over to where Dani was sleeping, watching her for a moment. "You said she doesn't know?"

"Not yet. I… haven't figured out how to tell her."

Sam turned to him. "You're not really gonna try and be… you're not gonna try and take care of her yourself, are you? Your parents…"

"They're going to be her guardians, yeah. I mean, this isn't exactly a normal teen dad scenario, is it?" He made a sound at the back of his throat, choking on the irony. "How fair is it that I've never even… and yet… here I am, with a _kid._ Only, she's not a baby. I'm not even seventeen yet, and she's physically only three years younger than me, which makes the whole thing even more impossible. So, yeah. My parents are stepping in. But even so, it doesn't change what I feel. What I owe her."

"I know." Sam nodded, then frowned as if another thought had just occurred to her. "Wait. If you're actually her…?" She, too, had difficulty getting out the word. "If you're her father, then doesn't that imply there's… a mother?"

He winced. "Pretty much."

"Who…?" She had trouble getting that out, too.

"That's the million-dollar question, isn't it?" Looking down, he watched his red sneakers as they dangled above the floor. "We don't know. It could be anyone. All Vlad needed was a DNA sample. A hair. A used tissue. A drop of saliva. He could've stolen anyone's DNA, and there's no way of narrowing down who it might be. Although… we do know who it's not." He looked up at her, unsure whether he felt more relief or disappointment. "It's not you."

Her eyes widened. "_Me_? H-how do you know?"

"When you had the ecto-acne. My mom had to run a lot of genetic tests on you guys, and she still has everything on a database. She… checked against anyone's DNA she actually had a record of, just to be sure, and she didn't find any matches."

He watched her process this. "I… I'm not sure how to feel about that."

Offering her a small smile, he nodded in understanding. "I know. Me, neither."

They were silent a moment, watching Dani sleep, then Sam said, "I just don't get it. Why would Vlad _do_ something like this?"

"Why does Vlad do any of the things he does?" He felt like gagging on the bile that just saying Vlad's name produced. "He's a sick, twisted, pathetic, evil, fruit loop."

"Well, yeah, but why like this? I get why he'd want a clone of you, as sick as that is, but why go to the trouble of making a whole new child out of your DNA?"

Danny shrugged. "Because he could and he likes to have that kind of power over other people? That, and he probably wanted to test out the growth formula and stuff on someone else before he tried it with the clones. He's always treated Dani like she's nothing more than a guinea pig for his more 'important'… experiments. And…" He hesitated, not really wanting to think about the possibility, although it had occurred to him more than once, and he knew even without discussing it with his parents that it had occurred to both of them, too. "I think there's a good chance she was more than just a test subject for the clones. I think she may also have been a test run for making a kid for himself with his own DNA… and my mom's."

Sam closed her eyes, shaking her head in disgust. "Knowing him, you're probably right." Then, her eyes flying open, she turned to give him a horrified look. "You don't think he already—?"

"I doubt it. We would've found out about it by now if he had a kid. He'd want to wave it under my dad's nose, for one thing."

She nodded slowly. "So, what now? For Dani, I mean."

He looked at Danielle as she slept. "I don't know. We help her get better, I guess. My mom thinks her human side will recover pretty quickly, and that we should probably train her to fight ghosts with weapons instead of her powers so she can defend herself without making herself sick or weak. With Vlad still out there…"

"Probably a good idea. She seems like a fighter."

"She is. And then… I guess my parents try and figure out how to become her legal guardians. We're gonna stick with the story she told to begin with, that she's some distant cousin. Only now, we'll say she lost her parents. But she has no birth certificate, no social security number, and her mythical dead parents never existed, all of which could create huge custody issues."

"That won't be a problem."

He frowned. "How do you figure?"

"You'd be surprised what money can buy, Danny. Birth records, death records, social security numbers. With enough money, you can create a person from air."

"And you would know this because…?"

She shrugged, evasive. "I've looked into it."

"Why?"

Sighing, she chewed her lip a moment. "Because it occurred to me that if the Guys in White ever find out who you are, it would be a useful thing to know."

He let go of her hand, his eyes widening "You… Are you _kidding_ me?"

"What do you think?" Her face was devoid of any humor, or even her usual snark. "The point is, we can establish Dani's identity. Parents' births and deaths, her birth certificate, social security, even a will naming your parents as guardians. I can take care of it."

He blinked, trying to wrap his head around what she was saying. "You can…? _How_? That doesn't sound like the kind of thing the profits from FentonWorks could pay for."

She gave him a look. "Do you even have to ask? I have money."

"No, your _parents_ have money, and I doubt they'd just hand it over to you for something like _this_."

"I have money, Danny." When he kept looking at her, waiting for more, she sighed again. "My grandmother's the one who controlled my trust fund, not my parents. And she turned it over to me when you told her and my parents who you are. Just in case. And she and my granddad were radicals in the fifties and sixties. She knew some people who knew some people…"

He gaped at her. "I… _Geez_, Sam. Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because you would freak, kinda like you're doing right now."

"Well, _yeah_. It's kind of a shock to hear you've been basically planning your own version of the Witness Protection Program without even telling me!"

"It's just a safety net, that's all. But that's a whole different conversation for another time. Right now, you need to focus on her." She nodded towards where Dani was sleeping. "And I want to help. I want to make sure she gets whatever she needs to stay here with you and your parents. Let me do that much, okay?"

"I… I don't know what to say, Sam. I…" He hesitated. "This really does change everything. The whole world looks different now, and I have to do whatever I can for her, but I can't ask you—"

"Oh, Danny." She put a hand on his cheek, stroking it with her thumb. "You don't have to ask."

****

* * *

Danielle did recover fairly quickly—at least her human half. Within a week, she was able to get up and move around and, so long as she didn't use her ghost powers, begin an exercise regime to gradually rebuild her strength.

Danny still couldn't figure out how to tell her the truth about who she was, nor was he quite ready to share everything with Tucker and Valerie, but they were more than willing to pitch in and help train his "cousin." Valerie, a ninth-degree black belt in several different forms of martial arts, took a particular interest in teaching Dani that girls didn't need special powers or weapons to defend themselves. It was more than a little ironic, since Valerie's ecto-powered battle suit and jet sled did give her special powers and weapons. Still, she knew her stuff, even without the suit and sled, and as soon as Dani was well enough to begin a light workout regime, Valerie started coming over daily to teach her some basic stretches and stances in order to gradually build up her strength.

One day after school, Danny, Sam, Valerie, and Danielle were all in the Fentons' backyard, where Valerie was running them all through a somewhat rigorous warm-up. Tucker had begged off to do some mayoral work at City Hall, although Danny strongly suspected it was mostly just an excuse to get out of exercising. Not that he could blame him. Valerie was about as laid back as the average drill sergeant when it came to physical fitness, and even with the little boost in strength Danny's ghost powers granted him while in human form, he had trouble keeping up with her. He worried a little that it was too much for Dani, but his mother had assured him that regular human physical activity wouldn't hurt her, so he clamped down on his over-protectiveness and let Valerie push her. After about half an hour, however, he'd had enough and went to sit on the porch steps to watch the three girls.

It was an impressive sight, the three of them working out together. Valerie's skills, even without her weapons, were extraordinary. Sam was very athletic and fit and, although she wasn't a martial arts expert like Valerie, she kept up fairly well. Dani was a quick study and enthusiastic to learn anything that would allow her to help fight Vlad.

After a few basic drills, Valerie wanted to work with Danielle one-on-one to fine-tune her roundhouse kick, so Sam joined Danny on the steps to watch. She grunted as she landed heavily beside him. "Man, Valerie is good. I could barely keep up. You know, you and me and Tuck should think about joining her dojo. It wouldn't hurt for all of us to know martial arts. You especially."

"Yeah, I know. Valerie's been bugging me about it. Maybe after Vlad is no longer an issue."

She nodded. "Dani's really a natural, too. Wonder where she gets it from? Definitely not you, Mr. I-don't-need-to-be-fit-'cause-I-have-ghost-powers." She nudged him with her elbow.

"Hey, that was, like, two years ago. I work out now." He showed her his arm. "Check out these biceps."

Sam arched an eyebrow at him. "Okay, you're not the skinny runt you once were, I'll give you that. But I'll bet you can't do _that_ without your ghost powers." She nodded towards Valerie, who was demonstrating a perfect roundhouse kick. Sam sighed, suddenly wistful. "I have to admit, I'm a little envious of Val. I thought I was in good shape, but she blows me away."

"She's been doing it a long time." He watched them as Valerie showed Dani how to position herself, where her center of gravity should be, and how to angle her foot. After only a few tries, Dani was able to do a fairly good imitation of Valerie, and the two of them stood side-by-side, kicking out in unison. Danny raised his eyebrows. "Man, you're right. Dani _is_ a natural. She picked that up fast."

They ran through it a few more times until Dani had the move down with almost as much fluid grace as Valerie. When they stopped, Valerie looked over at them on the steps. She arched her eyebrow at Danny, then leaned over and said something to Danielle, and both girls threw their head backs and laughed. Despite the fact that it was obviously at his expense, it warmed his heart to see Danielle laughing and looking so happy. She was getting along great with all his friends, too, but especially Valerie, whom she seemed to admire a lot. Now, laughing together, they almost looked like sisters, except for skin color. But the way Dani's eyes would crinkle in the same way as Valerie's, or how they both had the same sort of guttural belly laugh…

Danny frowned, tilting his head as he watched them.

Sam noticed. "Danny? What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong. It's just… do they seem alike to you?"

Sam wrinkled her nose as she followed his gaze. "Alike? I dunno, they—" She stopped short, her eyes widening. "You don't think…?"

He looked at Sam, his mouth suddenly dry. "I don't know. It's… possible. Isn't it?"

"But… _Valerie_?"

"Why not Valerie?" He turned back to watch them as they started heading towards him and Sam, and he lowered his voice. "Vlad sure liked to mess with her. Almost as much as he messed with me."

The two girls reached the steps and Valerie stopped, folding her arms. "What's with you two? You look like you've seen—"

"A ghost?" Danielle finished, and she and Valerie smirked at each other with identical expressions.

Sam, who was always a more accomplished liar than the rest of them, smoothly intercepted. "No. He's just a little jealous. He couldn't do a kick like that in human form if he worked at it for a year."

"I'm telling you, you all should join my dojo and learn some real moves. You'd be a lot better ghost fighters."

"I'd like to join," Danielle said quickly.

Valerie looked at Danny. "Do you think your mom would let her?"

"I… yeah." He swallowed. "Probably. She said anything that didn't use her ghost powers was good."

Frowning, Valerie nudged Danny's foot with her toe. "What is with you, Fenton? You're acting kinda… freaked out."

He glanced at Sam, who did a better job of keeping her expression neutral, before he answered Valerie. "No. I'm just, you know… impressed with how quickly Dani is learning."

"Yeah, she's a real natural, aren't you, kid?" Valerie put her arm around Danielle's shoulders and gave her a squeeze. "So, you ready for a new move?"

"You bet I am!"

"Good. Just let me take this shirt off first. It's getting hot out here." Valerie pulled her long-sleeved, white t-shirt over her head, revealing a red tank top underneath. In the process, her headband came off with it. "Hang on," she said, thrusting the shirt and headband at Danny to hold for her. Leaning forward, she shook out her long, curly hair over her head.

Danny looked at the clothing in his hands. Her headband, red to match her tank top, was caught in the collar of the shirt, with a few strands of black hair clinging to it. He looked from Valerie, who was still shaking out her hair, to the headband, picking the latter up between his fingers. Valerie righted herself. "Thank you," she said, taking the headband out of his hands and putting it back over her head to hold her hair away from her face. "Come on, Dani. Let's try a high kick next." She looked at Sam and Danny. "How 'bout you guys? Wanna give it a try?"

Sam and Danny glanced at each other as Danny closed his fist around the strands of hair he'd managed to pluck off the headband before Valerie took it back. "Actually… I have some homework I need to do. You guys keep working, though."

"Yeah. I have some homework, too," Sam added, giving Danny a significant look.

Valerie shrugged. "Suit yourself. But don't come crying to me the next time a ghost kicks your butt because you get winded." Then, she and Dani trotted back out across the yard to continue their workout.


	54. Danielle: Part V

_ **May  
Two and a half years after the accident  
Age 16** _

Danny paced across the floor of the Op-Center while Sam sat cross-legged on the counter near the windows, her elbows resting on her knees and her chin in her hands. At a workbench in the center of the room, his mother was bent over a microscope. Danny stopped moving long enough to face her. "Can you tell anything yet?"

She sighed without looking up. "Not in the thirty seconds since the last time you asked."

Grunting in frustration, Danny resumed his pacing.

Finally, his mom looked up from her microscope and pushed her goggles and hood back away from her face.

Danny stopped again. "Well?"

Her eyes were round and sober, and he knew the answer even before she spoke. "It's a match."

Behind him, Danny heard a sharp intake of air from Sam. His fists clenched at his side, he closed his eyes. "That slimy sack of… _Vlad_. It isn't enough he has to mess with me. He just _had_ to drag Valerie into it."

He felt his mom's hand on his shoulder, and he opened his eyes to look at her. She gave him a sympathetic squeeze. "At least we know now. That's something. But… there's something else you should know. Dani's DNA has the same sort of ecto profile as yours. But Valerie's DNA has some… peculiarities as well."

Danny frowned. "What do you mean?"

"It isn't anything like yours, but her DNA… it has an ecto profile as well. But Dani didn't inherit it. Only yours."

"Wait." Sam jumped down from the counter and came over to join them. "Are you saying Valerie has some sort of ghost powers, too?"

"Not ghost powers, no. But her DNA has definitely undergone a mutation."

"The suit!" Danny gaped at his mother. "I _knew_ something wasn't right about the way it works now! Her first suit came from Vlad, and it was just this regular, really high-tech suit. But it got destroyed in a fight between me and Technus, who turned around and used the pieces of it to… I dunno. He did something to her, to sort of meld it to her. Now, she can outfit herself in that suit just by _wanting_ to, kinda like I can go ghost."

His mom nodded thoughtfully. "Yes, that could be explained by the ecto-profile in her DNA. But it's odd that Dani inherited only your ecto profile, and none of Valerie's."

"What if Vlad took Valerie's DNA before Technus changed it? All that stuff with Technus and Val had already happened by the time I met Dani, but Vlad would've had to have been… growing her a while before that, right?" He winced, not liking the way that sentence dehumanized Dani, but he wasn't sure how else to put it. "The Technus thing happened in the spring of our freshman year. Dani showed up maybe six months later."

Again, his mom nodded. "You're right. It would've taken at least six months to complete twelve years of accelerated growth, including zygote, embryo, and fetal stages in addition to infancy, childhood, and pre-adolescence. Your father and I have already extrapolated a late spring 'birth,' which means Vlad must have had Valerie's DNA for at least a couple of months before that. Come to think of it, the most likely time for him to have collected it from her would've been during the Ghost King crisis, since he came into close contact with her then."

Danny clenched his fists again, burning at the memory of the way Vlad had manipulated Valerie during that whole mess, which he'd caused in the first place. "That was definitely before Technus messed with her," he ground out. So much done to her, all to get at _him_, and here was yet another thing…

His mom looked at him. "We need to tell her. About the mutation and about Danielle."

"I know."

"Do you want me to talk with her?"

He shook his head. "No. It should come from me. At least the part about Danielle, anyway. Maybe you can tell her the part about the ecto profile in her DNA." Then, he frowned. "Mom? Can I ask you something, though?"

"Of course, sweetie."

"Uh…" He wasn't sure exactly how to put this. "If Dani is Valerie's… if Valerie is her mother, then shouldn't Dani look, you know, more…?"

His mom raised her eyebrows. "Black?"

Danny shrugged, sheepish. "Well, yeah."

"Genetics and skin color is a complicated thing, Danny. And remember, Valerie herself is bi-racial. Her mother was white. With one bi-racial and one white parent, any combination of light and dark skin is possible. There have even been cases of fraternal twins being born to a bi-racial mother and a white father where one twin has dark skin and the other has white. And who knows to what level Vlad was manipulating or even hand-choosing the genes he wanted? He was, after all, trying to get a close likeness of you. Although, that makes me wonder why he wouldn't select for gender as well."

Danny ground his teeth. "Because he wasn't really trying to copy me, not with Danielle. She was just the guinea pig. The… _disposable_ one he could test stuff on before he tried it on the 'good' clone."

Sam let out a disgusted grunt. "Man, no matter how many times I hear it, I still can't quite wrap my head around it. He really is a piece of work, isn't he?"

Danny's mom had a dark look on her face. "You can say that again." She sighed, her expression softening back into a sympathetic one as she looked at Danny. "I'll let you work out how you wanna handle telling Valerie, sweetie. And if you need any help…"

"I know, Mom." He gave her a hug. "Thanks."

She squeezed him back, then exited the Op-Center through one of the pneumatic tubes, leaving Danny alone with Sam.

She looked down, shuffling her feet awkwardly. "It _had_ to be Valerie."

He sighed. "Sam. This isn't about—"

"I know." She cut him off with her hand upraised. "This isn't about me. It's about Dani, and you and Valerie. And what Vlad did to all of you. It's an unspeakable violation, I know. You didn't ask for this, Valerie didn't ask for this, and Dani sure as heck didn't ask for this. But I reserve the right to be selfish about this for one minute, okay? Sixty seconds, and then I promise I'll suck it up and get over it, because I know there's way more important stuff going on here than how I feel about it. But dammit! Why did it have to be _Valerie_? The one girl you ever really liked more than just a stupid crush, and now you… you're connected to her _forever_. I hate this, Danny. I know it makes me petty and small, but there it is. I hate that it was _her_."

He put his hands on her shoulders and pulled her closer to him. "What I was going to say is that this isn't about me and Valerie and our past almost-relationship. Dani isn't here because Valerie and I liked each other once. I mean, I never even kissed her, let alone—"

"I know, Danny. I do. But the end result is still the same. You share…" She put a hand over her mouth. "Oh, God, Danny, you share a _child_. No matter how that came to be, no matter that it wasn't your fault or hers, or that it'll be your parents raising Dani and not the two of you, it's still a _fact_. It's a bond you'll have forever."

"I know," he said softly. "But you and I, Sam… we have a bond we'll have forever, too. Right?" He was surprised by just how much he needed to believe that right now, that he wouldn't have to face everything alone.

"I…" She looked up at him, nodding. "Yeah, I know." Then, she blew out a breath in self-reproach. "I know it's stupid and petty, but I've always loved that… I dunno. That you were _mine_ first. Not that you didn't like other girls before you liked me, because I know you did, but… your friendship, your secret, and just really _knowing_ you—these were all things I had before anyone else. Well, except Tucker, but that's not exactly the same. Only, now Valerie has _this_. And even though I'll get over it—heck, even hearing how lame it sounds coming out of my mouth makes me halfway there already—I still hate it."

He hung his head, hating that she had to feel like that because of _his_ strange life. "I know. And I'm sorry, Sam."

"Ugh. Why is it that whenever you're a total jerk, I have to drag an apology out of you, but when something happens that absolutely isn't your fault, you're sorry? You didn't cause this, not any of it, and you don't have to be sorry."

"And yet, people around me keep getting their lives messed with because of me. I… I hate it, too, Sam. Believe me. But…" He looked up at her. "I love _Dani_. However she came to be, I'm glad she's here."

"Oh, Danny. I am, too." She snaked her arms around his neck and pulled him into an embrace. "Really. I think she's an awesome person, and I'm glad she's going to be living here with you and that we'll get to know her better. All the other stuff… we'll adjust. We will."

"I know we will." He leaned his forehead against hers. "Would it help any if I told you that you're first in every way that really matters? You're the first—the _only_—girl I've ever been in love with."

She smiled. "Yeah, actually. That does kinda help."

* * *

He waited until that evening to talk to Valerie, preferring to go over to her apartment after dinner rather then tell her while she was at FentonWorks with everyone else around. Even better, her dad was working late, so there was no one else at her place to overhear. They sat on the couch in her living room among cardboard boxes in various stages of packing—Mr. Gray would be closing on their new house in a few weeks, and he and Valerie were already preparing for their long-awaited move from Elmerton back to Amity Park—and Danny began like he had with Sam, telling her about Vlad's cloning project, and about how Dani differed from the actual clones.

Valerie looked horrified. "You know, just when I think I've heard every possible sick and twisted thing Vlad could do, I find out something else." She shook her head. "I can't believe I used to trust him."

"He's kinda good at manipulating people."

"No kidding. He's such a…" She trailed off, making a face rather than putting it into words. "Poor Dani, though. Does she know?"

Danny chewed on his lip. "She thinks she's a clone. I haven't told her yet that she's my… my daughter. And Val…" He swallowed, trying to calm his queasy stomach. "There's more."

"More?" She raised her eyebrows, waiting.

"Yeah. He didn't just steal my DNA to… make her." He hated using that word, like Danielle was something manmade instead of a real person. "He needed two… parents. So he stole someone else's DNA, too. Someone he had access to. Someone he loved messing with just like he loved messing with me. Someone he'd been using from the start to try and get at me."

Valerie frowned. "That could be anyone. Who _hasn't_ he used?"

"Think about it Val. One person in particular who had a grudge against me that he could use to his advantage. Who he had access to because of equipment _he'd_ provided…"

He could see on her face the exact moment she realized what he was getting at. Her eyes got very wide and she gasped, covering her mouth. "No. You can't mean…"

Pressing his lips together, he nodded. "Yeah, Val. I do."

"I…" She slid back on the couch, as if getting away from him would make it not true. "No. There must be some mistake. How could you possibly know—?"

"There's no mistake. I… I took some hairs off that headband you were wearing today. You and Dani… watching you together, she just seemed so much like you all the sudden, that I thought… maybe. So when you shoved your shirt and headband at me, I took some hairs off it, and my mom ran a DNA test."

"You took my hair and ran a DNA test without even telling me?"

"I…" He cringed. "Yeah, I guess taking your DNA without your permission isn't a whole lot better than what Vlad did, is it? I just… I didn't know what else to do. I didn't want to freak you out for no reason if it wasn't true. I mean, can you see me asking, 'Hey, Val, wanna give me a DNA sample so we can see if Dani is your kid?'"

She blanched, shaking her head. "My…? No. This can't be. I can't… she can't… _we_ can't! We never even…"

"_We_ didn't anything, Valerie. It was Vlad. He did this, to both of us. And to Dani."

"But I… I still have two more months before I'm even seventeen! How can I have a… and with _you_?" She looked like she was going to be sick.

"Uh… thanks?"

"Oh come on, you know what I mean! Our history is complicated enough without… _this_. The whole Phantom thing, and the suit and… _three_ dates, Danny! I kissed you _once_ on the _cheek_, and we have a… a…"

"A daughter."

"GAH! How can you even say the word?"

"Because I've had over a week to get used to the idea. Give it time—"

"Time for what? To get used to the idea that even though I've never… with _anyone_, let alone _you_… somehow a fourteen-year-old girl I thought was your cousin until five minutes ago is actually our… yours… and my…"

"Daughter."

"Stop saying that!"

"It's what she is, Val. She's our daughter. But it's not as big a deal as it seems."

She gaped at him. "Not a big deal? Are you _insane_? Have you completely lost your _mind_?"

He sighed. "That didn't come out right. Of course it's a big deal. It's a huge deal, and I'm still… I still haven't completely wrapped my mind around it, either. I just meant it's not like we suddenly have to drop everything to take care of a baby. My parents are gonna be her guardians, and we… Well, I'm not exactly sure where we fit in, but you… I'm not looking for anything from you." He winced, realizing how ironic and backwards this all was, _him_ telling _her_ they had a child together and that he wasn't expecting anything from her. "I know it changes everything for all of us, but… it is what it is, Val. It's not our fault Vlad did this to any of us, but it is what it is. And when it's all said and done, I love her, and I'm not sorry she's here, no matter how it happened."

"I…" She scrubbed her face with her hands. "She's a great kid, Danny. I liked her the minute I saw her. She was a street kid, stealing apples to keep from starving, and I just felt a… _connection_ to her. Then, I found out she was half ghost, and don't even get me started on what that was like, but still… I _like_ her. I always have. So of course I'm not sorry she's here, either. But how am I supposed to be a… a _mom_ to her?"

He put his hand on her shoulder. "By just doing what you've been doing and be there for her. I told you, my parents are the ones who'll actually do all the parent stuff. They know we can't do it, that none of this is our fault. If anything, they blame themselves for bringing Vlad into our lives in the first place, but it isn't their fault, either. Vlad's the only one to blame.”

She looked ashen as she shook her head slowly. “I can’t believe... I mean, I knew he was sick and twisted, but to do this, to steal DNA, to make a person out of it. I feel so...”

“Violated,” he finished when she couldn’t. “I know. Me, too.”

Her eyes widened. “And he sent me after her. She was my... and he used me to go after her. I almost got her killed.”

She put her hand over her mouth, and Danny thought she might throw up. He felt like he might, too. “I know. But none of that matters, now. She’s here, and she's ours, and all we have to do is love her and be there for her. It's all we _can_ do."

She looked up at him, frowning. "Are you going to tell her? That we're…?"

"Actually, I think we should tell her together. When you're ready."

"When I'm ready?" A laugh escaped her, one of those half-hysterical laughs. "This is surreal. I thought finding out about ghosts, and the suit, and _you_…" She waved her hand at him. "Being _him_. I thought that was surreal. But this? This is beyond surreal. It's _un_real."

"I know."

"_Dang_. What's my dad gonna say? He's never gonna let me near you again!"

"Why? _I_ didn't do anything!"

"Still…"

"I don't know, Val. It's up to you what you tell him. Or my folks can talk to him. Whatever you want."

"And what about Sam? I… oh, _man_. She and I had finally gotten to a place where we were completely comfortable with each other, where she really knows that I'm not gonna either start liking you again or start trying to kill you again. We were finally getting to be good friends. And now this. What's she gonna say?"

"Um, actually… she already knows."

Valerie blinked. "She _knows_? You told her before you told _me_?"

"I didn't know about you yet. I just told Sam about Dani and me. But she was sitting right there when I started thinking maybe it was you, and she's not stupid. She saw me staring at the two of you, and it didn't exactly take a genius to work out what I was thinking. She saw me take the hairs, too, and it was pretty obvious what I was going to do with them, so… yeah. She knows."

"And she's okay with it?"

"Well… you're probably not the first person she'd want it to be," he admitted. "But she's as okay as she can be, given the really bizarre circumstances. I don't think it's gonna screw up your friendship."

"You are so lucky you're with a girl who likes everything to be completely bizarre."

"Believe me, I know exactly how lucky I am."

She gave a rueful shake of her head. "Me? I never wanted any of this. I liked my normal life and my popular friends and my fancy house and all of it. And now look at me. Ghost fighting and battle suits and best friends with the biggest geeks in the school. And now… a daughter. Who's only a few years younger than me. What else could happen?"

Danny bit his lip, deciding to save the part about her altered DNA for another day. "It's all because of that one stupid thing with me and that ghost dog, too." He closed his eyes. "I'm so sorry, Val. I really, really am."

He felt her hand on his shoulder and he opened his eyes to find her looking at him with a sort of resigned expression. "No, Phantom. It's not you. I spent too much time blaming you already when, really, it was me. I let my anger at what I thought you'd done take over everything, and because of that, I accepted high tech weapons from a complete stranger without even thinking about why he might be giving them to me in the first place. I mean, come on. We're told from the time we're four not to accept candy from strangers, and there I was at four_teen_." She sighed. "I did this to myself. I didn't know what I was getting myself into at the time, but I still did it, not you. One bad choice, and nothing will ever be normal again." She started laughing again, but this time it was more ironic than hysterical. "I guess that part's no different than any other teenager who gets themselves in trouble. One careless choice, and your whole life is changed forever."

He nodded. "Yeah. My careless choice was walking into a deactivated Ghost Portal without powering it down completely."

She tilted her head. "Are you sorry, though? When it's all said and done?"

"No." He didn't even have to think about it. "No, I'm not."

"I… I don't think I am either. I mean, I'm not sure about this whole… this _mom_ thing. But Dani… she's awesome. I love her to death, I really do. And if she's only here because I was stupid enough to accept a battle suit from a stranger, then… maybe it's not the worst thing in the world."

He smiled. "Maybe it's not."


	55. Danielle: Part VI

_ **August  
Twelve years after the accident  
Age 26** _

Something weird was going on with the ghosts. Danielle wasn't sure exactly what, but after living in the Ghost Zone on her own for more than a year back when she was thirteen, she had a pretty good grasp of the code by which most ghosts operated, and their behavior last night just didn't fit. It wasn't the escalating attacks on Amity Park—that was a given. With Danny Phantom gone, they'd see the town as ripe for the picking and, in their way of thinking, they'd even consider it a show of support for him. It was pretty much standard operating procedure for ghosts.

What was weird was the way Johnny 13 had suddenly kidnapped Sam. Dani had been uptown with Valerie fighting Technus, Spectra, and Bertrand when Tucker called for help on the Fenton Phones, sending Valerie off looking for Johnny and Sam. But Dani couldn't figure out why Johnny 13, of all ghosts, would grab her. Ever since hers and Danny's wedding, the ghosts saw Sam as one of them. While that didn't mean they were above fighting her, or even killing her if she opposed them—which she clearly was doing—it just didn't seem like something Johnny would do. He was more of a troublemaker than a really dangerous ghost, and he had no grudge against humans in general, or Sam in particular, that Dani knew of.

Walker, on the other hand, _hated_ humans in general, and Sam in particular. If he had been the one who had grabbed her, it would've made sense to Dani, but instead, almost right after Johnny took Sam, Walker had suddenly become the focus of all the rest of the ghosts, who inexplicably called off their attack on Amity Park to go after him. Now, Dani knew there was no love lost between Walker and the majority of the other ghosts. His arbitrary rules and the way he enforced them made no one happy, but Dani couldn't figure out why they would pick that exact moment to decide to do something about it. And they'd let Sam go at that point, too. When Valerie had come home last night, she'd told Dani and Tucker how she'd found Sam in the park with Skulker, but instead of fighting back when Valerie went after him, he'd told Valerie to take Sam home before taking off after Walker like every other ghost in town.

None of it made any sense and, as Dani sat at the kitchen table in Tucker and Valerie's townhouse, tapping her spoon aimlessly on the side of a bowl of cereal she was attempting to eat for breakfast, she tried to sort it out. What was going on, and did it have something to do with Danny's arrest? And what could Walker have done that was such an affront to the others that they would call off their siege on the humans to go after him?

While she was ruminating about this, Valerie came into the kitchen and poured herself a cup of coffee from the pot Dani had brewed. Putting her spoon down in the bowl, Dani looked up at her. "We need to figure out what's up with the ghosts. There must be some reason Johnny 13 would go after Sam like that."

Valerie turned around and regarded her thoughtfully over her mug of coffee. "You care what happens to Sam?"

Grunting, Dani rolled her eyes. "Oh, give me a break. Of course I care what happens to her! Just because I'm really mad at her doesn't mean I want anything bad to happen to her."

"Then maybe you should go see her."

She sighed. "Yeah, I don't think so."

"She's family, Dani. Be mad at her, but don't shut her out."

"I just can't be around her right now, okay? What she did—"

"Whoa, you can stop right there, kiddo, because I am _so_ not on your side on this one. If it weren't for Sam, the Guys in White would know who you are."

"If it weren't for Sam, Danny would be safe in the Ghost Zone somewhere, and so would I!"

Valerie gave her a tired look. "Okay, no point in rehashing this same argument. You and she disagree on what the best course of action that night should have been. So what? She's _family_, Dani. When are you going to get over this and _talk_ to her? And don't even get me started on how you're avoiding the Fentons. They ask me every time I see them if you're ever going to come home, and I'm tired of not knowing what to say to them."

Dani studied the soggy remains of the corn flakes in her bowl. "How am I supposed to face them? They'd have their son if it weren't for me."

"Oh, for the… They _love_ you, Dani!"

"They love me because of _him_."

"They love you because of _you_. Why is that so hard for you to comprehend? You aren't second best to him. They've raised you since you were fourteen, and you are their daughter in almost every way that matters. So your answer is to shut them out at the exact same moment they lost their son? How do you think that feels for them?"

Dani looked up at her. "You know I don't want to hurt them, but I know that every time they look at me, they see him, and I hate that I'm still here and he's not!"

"Hiding away is not making it better, Dani. They're family."

"I know. You've said that, like, fifteen times now."

"Well, family's feeling more important than ever right now. I…" She took a deep breath and sat down at the table across from her. "There's something you need to know, Dani. You're… gonna be a sister."

For a moment, Dani thought she meant that Maddie was going to have a baby. Maddie really was her mother in most respects, after all. But why would Valerie put it that way, saying she was going to have a sister rather than using the "cousin" euphemism? Or even calling her the baby's niece, which is what she'd actually be. Unless… Her eyes widened. "You? You're _pregnant_?"

Valerie snorted. "Oh, that'd go over really well during an election year, wouldn't it? 'Representative Foley has baby out of wedlock.'"

"Please. The wedding's only a little more than three months away. No one's gonna care." She gave Valerie a broad smile. "Is it true, then? You're really…?"

"I'm not pregnant, Dani." She exhaled slowly. "Sam is."

It took a minute for Dani to absorb this. If Sam was pregnant then… "Danny's going to be a father?"

Valerie nodded.

"He doesn't even know…"

"No. Sam just found out herself last night. Apparently, the ghosts could tell, and she confirmed it with a couple of different home pregnancy tests."

"The _ghosts_…?" And then everything fell into place. Johnny 13 hadn't _kidnapped_ Sam; he'd been _protecting_ her. From Walker, the one ghost who'd never accepted her as one of them. He'd never approved of humans mixing with ghosts. The other ghosts had a code they kept to with each other, and babies and expectant mothers were off limits. But if the code applied to Sam's baby… if they could tell she was pregnant… Dani sucked in her breath. "The baby's a _ghost_, isn't it? Or at least part ghost."

Valerie's eyebrows shot up. "What makes you say that?"

"That would explain why the ghosts were acting all weird last night. If the baby's a ghost, they'd sense it and they'd feel it's their duty to protect her until the baby's old enough to defend itself. But Walker hates half-ghosts and he hates that one married a human, so naturally he'd hate any children they might have. Johnny grabbed Sam to protect her from Walker while all the ghosts went after him for not following their moral code… such as it is."

"You sound like this makes sense to you."

"It does, in a cultural-studies kind of way." She frowned. "Oh, _man_. If Sam's pregnant with a half-ghost, then Walker's the least of her problems. What are the Guys in White gonna do to her?"

"First of all, we don't know for sure the baby's got ghost powers. Second, we're gonna hide the pregnancy for as long as possible. No one knows, except for family. Sam told Tucker last night, he told me, and I'm telling you. She's probably over at FentonWorks telling Danny's parents right now, and I'm sure she'll be telling Jazz today, too. Then maybe her family, Dash and Patrick, and probably her lawyer. But that's it. We're keeping this secret as long as possible, and when we can't hide the fact that she's pregnant, we'll keep her medical records private. So long as they don't know for sure, they can't touch her."

"Oh, right, 'cause the Guys in White are all about playing fair."

"This isn't as cut-and-dried as it was with Danny. They _knew_ he was a ghost and they _knew_ he'd broken his probation, and even then, the way they handled it is killing them in the public eye. Like it or not, the law as it stands was clearly on their side. But they're gonna have a really hard time justifying going after a pregnant woman with little more than a suspicion that the baby _might_ be a ghost." She sighed. "None of that is the point, though. The point is, you need to patch things up with her, and you need to start talking with the Fentons again. We're all family, and we're all gonna have to pull together, for the baby and for Danny."

"Danny." Danielle shook her head. "He needs to _be_ here for this."

"I know. And that's why we have to work together to get him back." She crossed her arms and gave Dani a look of warning. "And not go off half-cocked after the Guys in White. That won't help."

"I didn't say anything."

"I know you, Danielle Fenton. I know you'd do anything to get him back. We all would. But we've gotta do it the right way. The _legal_ way. Otherwise, everything Danny sacrificed will be for nothing. You got me?"

Dani rolled her eyes. "Yes, _Mom_."

Valerie arched an eyebrow at her. "And none of that lip, either."

* * *

Dani had long since finished dinner and was on the couch in the living room flipping through one of her anatomy books by the time Tucker returned home that evening. Between work, campaigning, and checking up on Sam, it was nearly eight o'clock before he showed up, and Dani was trying to refresh her memory on some of her coursework before the new semester started in a couple of weeks. She'd talked with her advisor a few times about whether or not she should take a year off, and she hadn't quite decided what to do, but she'd been leaning towards going back. If nothing else, it would get her out of Amity Park and away from the people she still couldn't bring herself to face. But with the news about Sam's pregnancy, she was beginning to rethink that. She'd have to reconcile with her eventually, and she wanted to be around to help protect her and the baby once the news became public. With that on her mind, she couldn't really focus on the book, and Tucker's arrival only served to distract her further as she listened to him and Valerie talking in the kitchen behind her.

"How's Sam?" Valerie asked him.

Dani could hear him sliding a plate of meatloaf from dinner into the microwave. "She's still kinda freaked, but better now that she's talked to the Fentons."

"How'd they take the news?"

"Well, they're thrilled, of course, although no one's happy that Danny's not here to be a part of everything. Sam's really relieved though, because Mrs. Fenton already has an idea how to make sure the baby stays put if it has intangibility powers. I guess she's been thinking about this stuff for years, ever since she found out Danny was half ghost. She just needs to work it out with Sam's doctor."

"You think Sam can trust her doctor?"

"She said she likes her regular doctor well enough, but there's an OB/GYN who sits on the Human-Ecto Alliance board. A Dr. Moshi or something like that. Sam's been thinking about switching to her anyway, so she's gonna start there." The microwave dinged, and he pulled the plate out and went and sat down at the table. "I'll tell you what, though. The Guys in White really have me worried."

"They're not gonna know anything for a while yet."

"I know, but we can't keep it a secret forever. If Sam got pregnant on their anniversary, like she's thinking, then she's already almost two months along. That gives us, what? Two more months, tops, before she starts showing. And you know how the tabloids are. If she so much as starts wearing loose clothing, they're gonna be all over it, so we might even have less than that."

"At least she doesn't wear half-shirts anymore."

"True, but she still wears stuff that's pretty form-fitting. One loose blouse and you know the tabloids are gonna have a field day. She can be evasive and all that, but the Guys in White will be paying pretty close attention by then. 'Cause the more I think about it, the more valuable I think Danny's kid would be to them. Maybe even more than Danny himself."

Danielle's hand froze in mid page-turn on her anatomy book. Danny's kid more valuable to the Guys in White than Danny himself? She listened more closely while trying to look like she was absorbed in her book.

"How do you figure?" Valerie asked Tucker.

"Think about it. What's the big thing with the Guys in White?"

"Hunting ghosts?"

"Well, yeah, but you hunt ghosts, too. So do I, and so do the Fentons. But we just do it to send 'em back to the Ghost Zone when they're messing with the Human World. The Guys in White, though—they're all about ridding the world of the ecto 'infestation.' They even tried obliterating the Ghost Zone once, and they'd try it again if they could manage it without destroying our world along with it. They want everything to be 'normal.' As soon as they found out Danny Phantom was half human, they wanted to get their hands on him even more than before, because a ghost-human hybrid's about as not-normal as you can get."

"So why would that make them want the baby even more?"

"Because Danny's mutation was just an accident. For the first fourteen years of his life, he was a completely normal kid. But imagine what they'd do with someone who was _born_ a hybrid. Someone who inherited the ecto 'contaminated' DNA genetically. Tell me they won't want to get their hooks into that."

"You may have a point there." Valerie sounded thoughtful. "But grabbing a pregnant woman or a newborn baby? That'd have to be a political nightmare for them. Look how much the video of Danny's arrest has hurt them in the polls."

"The Guys in White aren't politicians."

"No, but they're regulated and funded by politicians. Their supporters in Congress are gonna reign them in if it'll hurt them in the polls."

"But that's only until November. What happens after the election, especially if they lose the majority in one or both houses? From November until January, we'll have a lame duck anti-ecto president, a lame duck anti-ecto majority in both houses of Congress, and two years until the next election. Public perception isn't gonna matter. It'd be a perfect time for them to go after her and the baby."

"Not if they can't prove it's got ghost powers."

Tucker grunted. "That's why keeping Sam's medical records secret is gonna be crucial. By the election, her pregnancy will be public knowledge, so the only thing we'll have is making sure they can't prove it's half-ghost. And they're gonna try, Val, believe me. Not just warrants, but they'll try and push some kind of legislation that allows them DNA testing without warrants or something like that. There's been talk about that ever since Danny came out and they realized it was possible for a human to have ghost powers. Just you wait. I'd bet every piece of technology I own that there'll be a bill introduced as soon as we reconvene after the election." He lowered his voice, and Dani had to strain to hear him. "Val, I want you to talk to Sam. I know she's already thinking about all this stuff, but I need you to make sure she's making… contingency plans."

"Contingency plans? You want her to—?"

"Buh buh buh!" Tucker cut her off. "I don't want to know. I _can't_ know because of my position. Just talk to her for me, okay? Don't tell me what you talk about. Just… make sure the baby's gonna be safe no matter what."

"She's a smart girl, Tuck. Danny making the choice as an adult to let them take him is one thing, but Sam's not gonna let them lay one finger on her baby."

"Just… make sure. For me, okay? Protecting that baby just became Job Number One, as far as I'm concerned."

Dani's grip tightened on her anatomy book as she remembered what Valerie had said that morning. _We've gotta do it the right way. The _legal_ way._ She chewed her lip as a plan began to form. _If they'd want someone born a hybrid more than they'd want Danny, then maybe we should just give them what they want._

****

* * *

It was either ironic or fitting—Dani couldn't decide which—that the offices of the Human-Ecto Alliance didn't have a ghost shield. They did have a standard door alarm and motion detectors, but the former was a non-issue when she could phase in through the wall, and the latter was easily taken care of once she was inside. A small blast of ice to freeze the alarms for an hour or so without damaging the system permanently was all that she needed. She very rarely used her ice powers—they hadn't been completely developed before Vlad had decimated her ability to fully go ghost, and they made her feel sick faster than using her more standard powers like ectoplasm or intangibility did—but she was fairly well rested, and the blast required to disable the alarm was small and well worth the energy expended.

The clock on the wall read just past two in the morning when she made her way through the dark and silent building looking for the office that belonged to Rob Collins, the HEA's General Counsel. He was also the lawyer who brokered the deal wherein Danny turned himself into the government in exchange for full immunity for all those who knew his human identity. She found his office easily enough and, although it was locked, there was no separate alarm, so she only had to phase through the door and she was inside.

Finding the file she was looking for was a little harder. The filing system was complex, and it took her a while to figure out that it wasn't in with the regular files, but was a part of the separate group where everything that pertained to the current lawsuit was kept.

Understanding the file once she found it was even more difficult. As a medical student with high grades and a good understanding of complicated Latin terms, she would've thought it wouldn't be hard to decipher, but legal-ese was like a whole other language and she had to struggle to figure out exactly what the terms of the deal between Danny and the government were. Although she knew the gist of it was that none of the people who had known Danny's identity could be prosecuted for conspiracy or anything related to having kept Danny's secret over the years, one thing was clear—in order for her to pull off what she hoped to do, she was going to need a lawyer. She couldn't use Rob Collins or any of the other lawyers working on Danny's case, because then Sam would find out, and if Dani had learned anything from the fiasco of Danny's arrest, it was that Sam's priorities were different from her own. But if not one of the HEA's lawyers, then who could Dani trust? It would have to be someone who was firmly pro-ecto, but wasn't involved with Danny's case or the HEA.

She went to Sam's office next. There, she booted up the computer and searched through Sam's address book. There were many lawyers listed, and it was hard for Dani to even begin to tell which one might be best, when she came across a name she thought she recognized. Miguel Sanchez. He'd done some legal consulting work back when Sam was still in college and getting the foundation off the ground. Dani, who had been in high school at the time, remembered meeting him a couple of times, and he'd seemed rather friendly and approachable. Better yet, his current address listed his office in Georgetown. Dani copied down his contact information, shut down the computer, made a photocopy of Danny's original deal with the government before returning it to where she'd found it in Rob Collins' office, then left quickly.

By time the ice around the alarm system melted, she was back at Valerie's and in bed, planning out her next course of action.

****

* * *

"You wanna what?" Valerie gaped at Dani as if she'd just suggested she wanted to go live on the moon.

"I wanna go to D.C. with you and Tucker when Congress reconvenes next month. I… I don't want to be here without you."

Valerie shook her head. "Dani, you can't run away from your family, especially not now. You just found out yesterday about the baby. If you're not gonna go back to school—"

"I'm not. There's just no way I could focus on my studies, not with everything that happened."

"And I get that. I do. But if you're not gonna do that, then you belong here, in Amity Park, with your family."

"You're my family, too."

"But I'm not your _whole_ family, Dani. You need your parents—the ones who raised you, I mean. And you need Jazz and Nick, and you need Sam and the baby. And _she_ needs _you_, Dani. You can't keep running away."

"The thing is, Valerie, I _need_ to get away. Not forever. But for a little while. One way or another, I'm leaving Amity Park for a while. If you won't let me stay with you in D.C., then I'll go somewhere else on my own. But I can't stay here. It's… it's too hard."

Valerie wasn't thrilled. Tucker was even less so, and he spent the better part of the next two days trying to convince her to stay in Amity Park and to go back home to FentonWorks. But Dani was stubborn—she was her mother's daughter, after all—and when it was clear she wasn't going to stay in Amity Park no matter what they did, Valerie relented. "I don't like it, Dani. I think you're being ridiculous. But if you want, you can come out to D.C. with us. But you'd better promise not to do anything stupid. I'm not gonna let you go off half-cocked after the Guys in White, so if that's your plan, you can just forget it and stay here."

"I promise, Val. No going off after the Guys in White half-cocked."

It wasn't a lie, not really. When she went after the Guys in White, it wouldn't be half-cocked. She would be fully loaded, with her target directly in the crosshairs.


	56. Danielle: Part VII

_ **October  
Twelve years after the accident  
Age 26** _

Danielle looked up at the gothic-style building that sat about two miles south of the Capitol, just across the Potomac. Like the rest of her family, she found it fitting that the national headquarters for the U.S. Ecto Security Agency, more commonly known as the Guys in White, was located in a building that once had been a hospital for the criminally insane.

She'd been by the building more times than she could count since coming to D.C. over a month ago, and she knew every entrance and exit, every security station and checkpoint. And yet, today, standing at the visitor's entrance to actually go inside the dragon's lair had her stomach doing back flips.

Beside her, Miguel Sanchez put a hand on her shoulder. "You sure about this? I told you, you don't have to be here. In fact, it would be better if you weren't."

Dani shook her head. "No. I have to do this. I have to face them myself."

"I don't know, Dani. Even putting aside all the strategic and legal reasons you should let me handle this, I'm worried about the security scan. If they figure out who and what you are, we'll have lost our ace in the hole, and all of this will be for nothing."

"They won't. This Ecto-flage Jack invented completely masks my ecto signature." She surreptitiously opened her suit jacket to show the thin band around her waist. Unlike the original Ecto-flage he'd invented for Danny a decade ago, the updated version was slim and sleek and looked like an ordinary belt. She even had it threaded through the belt loops on her skirt.

"And what's going to mask the Ecto-flage? They screen for weapons. And not just the standard issue ones."

"It's not a weapon and it's not even high-tech. It works mostly through a chemical compound running through it, and reads in x-rays and metal-detectors like an ordinary belt. I've worn it through airport security several times, and even sent it through the x-ray machine with my shoes when I flew out here with Val and Tuck, and TSA has never so much as blinked." She smirked at Miguel. "For as much as he comes off as a bit of a buffoon, Jack's actually really quite brilliant."

Miguel arched an eyebrow at her. "I've met the man, but if you say so…" He sighed. "Just remember to let me do all the talking. It's why you're paying me the big bucks."

"You're working pro-bono."

"Okay, it's why you're not paying me the big bucks but giving me the opportunity for fame and fortune if we pull this off."

"_When_ we pull this off."

"Just let me do the talking, got it?"

"Got it, Counselor."

* * *

Danielle was surprised—although in retrospect, she shouldn't have been—when she immediately recognized the two Guys in White who were sent to meet with her.

"O. and K." She smirked. "I would've thought you'd be off at Area 51 or wherever you've got my cousin stashed, poking needles into him. Who'd you tick off to get stuck with desk duty?"

Miguel shot her a look of warning, but Operative O. gave her a tight grin. The fluorescent lights cast a sort of greenish pallor over his pale, bald head, making him look, ironically, somewhat ghost-like. "Oh, no. As soon as we heard that a member of the Fenton clan had an offer for us, we _requested_ to be the ones to meet with you."

Operative K. folded his arms, his dark face expressionless and his eyes hidden behind the black sunglasses that all the Guys in White wore, even indoors. "We do have a long history with your family, after all."

Dani gave them her sweetest smile. "Oh, yes. I know."

Miguel coughed. "Excuse me. I am Ms. Fenton's attorney, so I will be conducting this meeting."

O. leaned forward, folding his black-gloved hands in front of him as he looked at Miguel. "Mr. Sanchez, is it? I don't believe you're one of the attorneys on record involved with the Fenton case."

"That would be because I'm not involved with the Fenton case. As I said, I'm _Ms_. Fenton's attorney. I don't claim to represent Danny Fenton, his wife, or his family. On the contrary, they would not approve of the offer Ms. Fenton is making to you today. And while I believe my client and theirs share similar goals regarding Mr. Fenton's imprisonment, I think you will find my client's offer a little more… intriguing."

"If your offer involves releasing a scale-nine, Class A Ectoplasmic Entity to wreak havoc on the world, then I think this meeting is over."

Dani snorted. "Oh, yeah. Saving the planet from asteroids, kicking real ghost threats back into the Ghost Zone, saving kids from oncoming trains… he's a real menace. And he's not an 'Ectoplasmic Entity.' He's a _person_. With a _name_. Try using it."

Miguel flashed her another warning before turning to O. and K. with a shrewd look. "I think you might want to consider what we have to offer before you reject us out of hand."

"And that would be?"

"The identity and location of another half-ghost."

Neither O. nor K. so much as twitched. K., his arms still folded across his chest, leaned back in his chair. "And what would make another half-ghost more valuable than the one we already have?"

"Because it's his kid," Dani said, earning herself another hard glare from Miguel.

This caught their attention. Although they tried to look impassive, O. and K. both sat up a little straighter and exchanged glances. "Are you saying the unborn child Samantha Fenton is carrying is half ghost?"

Dani laughed. "Oh, please. You guys really have no idea how ridiculous you are, do you? Falling all over yourselves trying to find out if that baby's a ghost or not. Ever since the rumors that she might be pregnant hit the tabloids a month ago, Sam's had you completely chasing your tails. And now that she's officially confirmed her pregnancy, you're wasting your time with warrants for her medical records or a DNA test, all over an unborn fetus. Haven't you figured it out yet? The baby's a _distraction_. An unplanned but very convenient distraction."

"A distraction from what?"

"From the court case," she replied before Miguel could interrupt. "And from the real reason Danny turned himself in in the first place."

O. snorted. "He didn't turn himself in. We had to arrest him at his house—"

"He was going to turn himself in the next morning. Seriously. Do you guys honestly think you would have been able to arrest him if he hadn't _let_ you? And haven't you ever wondered why he revealed his identity in the first place?" She learned forward. "He was protecting someone. He still is."

"Who?"

"His daughter."

"Dani…" Miguel warned.

K. frowned. "His wife wasn't even pregnant when he revealed his identity. Or if she was, it had only been days or hours at most. And he didn't even know she was pregnant when we arrested him, either."

Dani rolled her eyes. "You don't listen very well, do you? Sam's baby is a _boy_. That much she's made public. I said Danny's protecting his _daughter_."

This got another reaction, and O. leaned forward, all pretense of indifference gone. "Are you saying Daniel Fenton has _another_ child?"

Dani smirked at Miguel. "They're a little dim, aren't they?"

He sighed. "You really should be letting me handle this."

"But I'm having so much fun."

K. remained stoic behind his glasses. "Ms. Fenton. We have done an extensive background check on your family, your cousin Daniel in particular. Prior to his wife's pregnancy, there has never been record of any child—"

She wanted to laugh at how much their "extensive background check" had missed, just given the fact that he called Danny her _cousin_. She knew her own records would stand up to scrutiny, however. Sam and a good chunk of her trust fund had seen to that nearly a decade ago. "There wouldn't be a record of her. The family has kept it secret."

Even with their dark glasses covering their eyes, Dani could see all the possibilities whirling through their minds. "Why would they keep it a secret?"

"To protect her."

O. rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Or to protect himself, maybe? Because we know for a fact his wife has never been pregnant before this. So who's the mother?"

"The mother's irrelevant," Dani said quickly. "And Danny never cheated on Sam, if that's the gutter your minds have wandered into. His daughter was born before he and Sam ever even started dating."

K. and O. exchanged looks again. "When exactly was this? It's public knowledge that Daniel Fenton and Samantha Manson were high school sweethearts."

Dani glanced at Miguel, who had all but given up on reining her in. He gave her a nod, and she turned back to the Guys in White. "Eleven years ago."

"Eleven—?" This seemed to startle them even more. K. was practically rubbing his hands together at the implication. "You're saying Daniel Fenton fathered a child when he was _fifteen_?"

"Not exactly…"

"Not exactly? Either he fathered a child or he didn't."

Dani hesitated. She and Miguel had discussed at length how much of the circumstances of her birth they should detail at their first meeting. They'd considered letting the Guys in White assume whatever they wanted about how she came to be, thus sending them off on a wild goose chase trying to track her down, but Miguel was worried that they might decide to use the information to defame Danny in the press rather than cut a deal for his release. In the end, she and Miguel decided it was best to avoid giving them anything that could be used to impugn Danny's character or reputation, even if it meant giving them more of the truth than they'd like.

"Well?" O. prompted. "Did Daniel Fenton father a child when he was fifteen or didn't he?"

She glared at the two federal operatives. "It's a little more complicated than that. This isn't a case of youthful indiscretion. Danny's daughter was biogenetically engineered."

Twin sets of eyebrows raised behind twin pairs of dark glasses. "Go on," K. said.

Miguel took over. "I assume you gentlemen are familiar with Vlad Masters? Otherwise known as Vlad Plasmius?"

"Of course."

"Well, very shortly after Danny Fenton's accident, Mr. Masters discovered that the boy was a human-ghost hybrid like himself. Without Mr. Fenton's knowledge or consent, Mr. Masters used his DNA to genetically engineer a child."

K. arched an eyebrow. "Wouldn't that make her a clone?"

"Clones are genetic duplicates. Mr. Masters combined Mr. Fenton's DNA with that of an anonymous donor—the girl's biological mother—to create an individual with her own unique DNA. A daughter, not a clone."

"Why would he do such a thing?"

"I'm not privy to the inner workings of Mr. Masters' mind and, unfortunately, he destroyed all his records before revealing his identity to the world ten years ago. Otherwise, this would all be public knowledge. When Danny Fenton discovered the existence of the girl, he removed her from Mr. Master's…let's just say _care_, for lack of a better word. Fearing for the girl's safety, Jack and Maddie Fenton arranged for suitable foster parents, ones who were willing to conceal her identity and ghost powers. There is no record of this. Only the Fentons and Danny's closest friends—all of whom are covered under the immunity agreement made when he went public—know who the foster parents are and where the girl is located."

"And the biological mother?"

"As I said, an anonymous donor, and irrelevant."

"And where are the child and her foster parents now?"

Miguel shook his head. "That would be the part we're not sharing with you until you agree to our terms."

"Which are?"

He reached into his briefcase and pulled out a file. "Danny Fenton, released from custody and granted full immunity, in perpetuity, from any and all crimes under the anti-ecto laws. If he goes out and robs a bank, or gets caught speeding or, heck, jaywalking, then he goes through the regular courts and gets whatever the appropriate penalty would be. But if he uses his powers for anything that wouldn't otherwise be illegal, then you don't touch him. Ever. Same goes for his unborn child and any future children he might have, should they be found to have ghost powers. And full immunity for the girl's biological mother and foster parents as well."

O. barked out a harsh laugh. "Is that all? We give up Danny Phantom, some co-conspirators, and any number of possible future half-ghost offspring he might have to get _one_ kid now? A kid we don't even have any proof really exists? Why would we want to do that?"

"Oh, she exists." Miguel pulled another file from his briefcase and handed it over to them. "DNA records. The top one is Danny Fenton's DNA. I'm sure you can cross-reference it with samples you must have after having him in custody for three months. The bottom one is his daughter's. You can see from the report on page two that, given Mr. Fenton's nearly unique ecto profile, which matches the girl's exactly, the probability of paternity is 99.99999 percent."

"How do we know this is real? Or isn't from his unborn baby?"

"First of all, as Ms. Fenton pointed out, the baby is a boy. You'll see that the DNA sample in question is from a girl. I also have this." He pulled out a small vial. "Samples of her hair. You can test it for yourself."

K. took the vial from him. "How do we know where it came from?"

"You don't. That's the whole point. It does prove the existence of a daughter, however."

"Can we have something more conclusive? A blood sample, maybe?"

Miguel gave Dani the barest of glances. "That's out of the question."

The hair was safe to give them because the only information they could get from it beyond her DNA was the fact that her hair was black and a little on the dry side. Blood, however, was much more telling. Her blood would have traces of the ectoranium Vlad had exposed her to nine years ago, the ecto-purifier Maddie regularly treated her with whenever she would get sick from the residual ectoranium contamination, particularly if she'd used her powers and, most dangerous of all, it would show signs of the accelerated growth hormone that Vlad had used to age her twelve years all at once. If they found that, if they had any reason to suspect that Danny's daughter was not an eleven-year-old child but, rather, a full-grown woman, then it would be a short leap to deducing the identity of that woman, and then they would no longer have any reason to agree to Danny's release. Everything hinged on them focusing on a preteen child they could never, ever find on their own.

"Why is it out of the question?"

Miguel sighed. "The Fenton family—and that includes Danny's wife, by the way—has gone to great lengths to hide and protect this girl. If they so much as get the slightest inkling that you know of her existence, they will make her disappear so fast you'll think they studied under David Copperfield."

"Disappear? What you are suggesting constitutes conspiracy—"

"A charge from which the Fentons and everyone else who was in Antarctica during the asteroid crisis and knew Danny Phantom's identity are immune. That was part of the agreement your organization signed off on when Danny Phantom went public."

O. and K. both started sputtering. "That…"

"It didn't include…"

"It only applied to…"

"I've read the agreement, gentleman. You can neither arrest nor prosecute anyone named therein for any ecto-related conspiracy charges. The only way you have any shot at all of finding Danny Fenton's daughter is with the full cooperation of my client."

K. regarded Danielle with a hard look. "I don't recall your name being on the list of people who were in Antarctica during the asteroid crisis. We could just arrest _you_ for conspiracy."

Dani gave them an unconcerned shrug. "Fine. Arrest me. But under arrest or not, I only talk once Danny's home and fully exonerated. And if you do arrest me, how long do you think it will take my family to figure out what you're looking for?"

"I suggest you consider my client's offer," Miguel said. "She's the only one willing to name Mr. Fenton's daughter, and only if you agree to her terms."

O. scrutinized her a moment. "And why exactly _are_ you willing to name her, Ms. Fenton? You don't have a problem giving up an eleven-year-old girl?"

"Not just a girl. A genetically engineered half-ghost," she reminded them, knowing it would play into their prejudices. "And if it means getting Danny back, I'd…" She sighed, emotion bubbling up to the surface. "I love him. He's been like a brother to me since the day I came to live with his parents. And the world needs him. It doesn't need her."

She saw Miguel look down at his briefcase. When she'd first approached him more than a month ago, he'd balked at taking her case. A staunch ecto ally, he didn't want the Guys in White to get their hands on anyone, least of all another half-human. It had taken a lot of work on her part to talk him into this plan, and she'd only managed to convince him by arguing that it would be better for the cause as a whole for Danny Phantom to be exonerated.

K. shrugged, an ugly sneer on his face. "The world's better off without either of them. Or any spectral entity, for that matter. But again, why would we grant one of them—a known criminal under Article One, Section One, Subsection A of the Federal Anti-Ecto Control Act—full immunity just to get the other one?"

Dani's emotion hardened into anger, but Miguel put a hand on her arm to restrain her. To K., he said, "I can think of several reasons why this deal would be in your best interest." He began ticking them off on his fingers. "One: his daughter is in violation of the same law. That makes her just as much a 'criminal' as her father. Two: holding Danny Phantom is like having the tiger by the tail. The way you've arrested him and are holding him without granting him habeas corpus rights and without allowing him any contact with his family whatsoever—it's killing you in the court of public opinion. Many of the politicians who support your agency are likely to lose their seats in the election less than two weeks from now. But you can't just let him go, either. Not without invalidating everything you've been arguing for the past four months since he revealed his identity. What we're offering you is a graceful way to extricate yourselves from this political quagmire of your own making."

"We're not politicians, Mr. Sanchez."

"No, but your existence depends on politics and public opinion." Miguel held up a third finger. "Three: you've had Danny Fenton for three months. No doubt you've subjected him to numerous experiments to try and find out just what makes him tick."

Dani shifted in her seat, not wanting to think about what they might be doing to him, even as they sat here negotiating his future.

"The problem," Miguel continued, "is that he is an anomaly. A perfectly normal human being who happened to be the victim of a freak accidental mutation. What you learn from him cannot be extrapolated to any other beings, ghost or human. Any offspring he might have, on the other hand, who have inherited his ghost powers genetically, would be extremely valuable to you. The fact that you've spent so much time and energy over the past month first trying to verify Samantha Fenton's pregnancy, and then trying to verify whether or not the baby is a ghost confirms this. The truth is, however, you might never be granted access to Mrs. Fenton's or the baby's medical records, and even if you are, he might well not be a ghost hybrid, and all your efforts will have been for nothing. We, on the other hand, have documented proof of the existence of a child that we know for a fact inherited Mr. Fenton's DNA ecto-profile. You know the old saying about a bird in the hand…"

The Guys in White glared stone-faced at him.

Miguel's eyes narrowed. "And four: you will never, ever locate this girl without my client's help. If you want her at all, it will only be by agreeing to Ms. Fenton's terms."

O. and K. looked at each other then, in unison, stood. "We'll take your proposal under advisement, Ms. Fenton," O. said. "And we'll get back to you."

"One more thing," she replied, standing as well. "I want my cousin home by Christmas Eve." She'd wanted to give them an earlier deadline, but Miguel had warned her they wouldn't go for anything until well after the elections to see if Congress would come through with some kind of DNA testing law before adjourning. "If he isn't released by Christmas Eve, then the deal is off."

"We'll take it under advisement," O. repeated. "Good day, Ms. Fenton. Mr. Sanchez."

****

* * *

Special Operatives O. and K. sat together in their headquarters' surveillance room watching the tape of their meeting with Danielle Fenton and her lawyer. They'd hoped that after they'd left the room that either the girl or her lawyer would say something that would give them more information, but Mr. Sanchez merely packed up his briefcase, and they left without saying a word.

"Do you believe their story?" K. asked.

"Which part?"

"Any part?"

O. stroked his chin. "The DNA evidence and hair samples they gave us will prove whether or not this daughter exists easily enough. I assume that part is true at least, or they wouldn't have bothered. The stuff about Masters and biogenetic engineering, though…"

"Think they might have just been trying to throw us off the trail? Keep us from looking for one of Fenton's classmates that might have gotten herself 'in a family way' around that time?"

"It's possible. And we can certainly still look into it. But very, very quietly. I do think they were telling the truth about one thing—if the rest of the Fenton family finds out, they'll make it that much harder for us to find the girl."

K. arched an eyebrow. "What about Jack Fenton? He could be a weak link in all this. He is an idiot, after all."

"But anything he knows, his wife'll know, and she's a lot more on the ball. No. We need to make sure they don't get wind of this."

"And the Fenton girl's offer?"

O. shrugged. "It's not our decision to make, but I don't think it'll come to that. As soon as the elections are over, Senator Seema will introduce a mandatory DNA testing bill. And the bigwigs in Congress have some other ideas, too. We just have to ride it out until we can find this kid on our own."

"But think it'll get through by Christmas? Or are we gonna have to call her bluff?"

O. slapped his partner on the shoulder. "By Christmas, I don't think it'll matter. Did you see the report from Section Nu-Alpha? They've made some sort of anti-ecto drug into a new flu super vaccine. They're gonna start testing it out on Phantom. They think it'll knock the ghost right out of him."

K. smiled. "So by Christmas…"

"He'll be fully human again."

"Then it won't matter if we release him or not." Then, K.'s smile turned into a frown. "What about the baby? We're not giving that up, are we?"

"If this drug works, our friends in Congress will find a way to get it into the baby, too." O. gave his partner another pat on the shoulder. "One way or another, we're gonna get all these half-ghost freaks."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Like the rest of her family, she found it fitting that the national headquarters for the U.S. Ecto Security Agency, more commonly known as the Guys in White, was located in a building that once had been a hospital for the criminally insane._ Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction. According to a March 19, 2007 article in the **Federal Times**, the Department of Homeland Security is planning on moving their headquarters into an abandoned insane asylum sometime within the next decade. Make of that what you will.


	57. Danielle: Part VIII

_ **Washington D.C.  
December 22, 9:30 am EST** _

Dani hadn't expected to hear anything from the Guys in White anytime soon, so when the elections came and went, she wasn't worried. She'd stayed behind in D.C. when Tucker went back to Amity Park to campaign in the middle of October, not because she thought she'd need to meet with them again, but because she was afraid that if she got anywhere near her family—_Danny's_ family—she would let something slip. With Valerie, it was easier, because she alone was more _her_ family than Danny's. Valerie had even stayed behind in Alexandria with her until just before Election Day, and while it was irritating to be treated like a child who needed a babysitter, she couldn't help but be grateful for the companionship of the one person whose love for her wasn't dependent upon her love for Danny.

Sam came to D.C. a few times, both before and after the elections, to lobby for Danny's freedom. She was always accompanied by Dash. Apparently, she'd been getting all sorts of scary e-mails and letters, and people here were fiercely divided as to whether they idolized or demonized Danny and his unborn child. The first two visits, she'd tried to see Dani, but by the third trip out, she'd pretty much given up.

Thanksgiving weekend arrived, and Dani was supposed to go home for Valerie and Tucker's wedding. That was the thing she was most dreading, because there would be no way to avoid Sam and the Fentons. When the wedding was postponed, she canceled her flight, torn between relief and disappointment that she wouldn't have to see them after all.

November rolled into December, and Tucker and Valerie, still unmarried, returned to D.C. Congress reconvened, and there was a contentious debate over a mandatory DNA testing bill, just as Tucker had predicted back in August. Dani watched it closely, along with Valerie, each of them terrified it would pass for similar and yet completely different reasons. When it failed, they took Tucker out to celebrate. With that last hurdle crossed, Dani was sure that she would be hearing from the Guys in White soon.

It was the middle of the month before she got an e-mail from Miguel on the free e-mail account she'd set up specifically to communicate with him. She'd rushed to his office, only to find that the deal had fallen well short of what was acceptable.

"They're offering immunity for the foster parents," he began.

"Which is redundant, since Jack and Maddie are covered under the original agreement Danny made," Danielle finished for him. They'd added that for appearances, and also to give them negotiating room.

"And immunity for the biological mother."

She raised an eyebrow at this. "What kind of immunity? Just from conspiracy-related charges?" That would be another redundancy; Valerie was also covered under Danny's original agreement.

He smiled. "I worded it very carefully to cover _any_ charges that fell solely under the anti-ecto codes, and they didn't balk."

"Okay. So far so good."

"Unfortunately, that's where the good news ends. They're offering to release Danny, but under the same terms as the probation agreement he was under in June. And they're offering nothing at all for the baby or any future children."

Dani's shoulders slumped. "Then it's worthless. Last time, Danny was home all of two weeks before he had to go ghost to save someone's life. What are the chances he won't run into the same kind of situation again? And the whole point of this little exercise was to protect the baby. What good is an agreement that doesn't do that?" She closed her eyes, crushed.

A hand settled on her arm. "Dani, it's a negotiation. We offer them more than we need, they come back with less than they're really willing to give. That's how it works. We'll counter offer."

She opened her eyes and looked at him. "But Christmas Eve is just over a week away. I just… I want him _home_, Miguel." Suddenly furious, she slapped her hands down on the conference table. "I am so sick of people thinking they can play God with me and the people I love. First Vlad, now the Guys in White… I'm done with it. No deal. The original offer, or nothing."

"Dani, let me explain the concept of 'negotiation' to you…"

"I'm tired of negotiating with the Taliban. All or nothing, Miguel. Tell them. If I walk, Danny's daughter disappears forever."

He sighed. "Okay. You're the boss."

Now, a week later, she was beginning to regret her rash decision. It was only two days until Christmas Eve, and even though she spoke or e-mailed with Miguel at least twice a day, he never had any news for her. The Guys in White had remained completely silent after their first offer, and she couldn't help but think she'd made a huge mistake insisting on all or nothing, a mistake for which Danny and his baby were going to pay. She'd spent her entire opening shift at Queequeg's this morning obsessing over it, to the point where she was almost worthless to her coworkers.

It didn't help that she was also suffering from homesickness. Christmas lights and decorations everywhere made her think of Jack and Maddie's stupid annual Christmas quarrel, and she was missing them so much she could taste it, like bile in her throat. She missed Jazz and Nick and little Charley—the one member of the family that really was her cousin. Charley's first birthday party had been right after the elections, and Dani had missed that, too. The pictures Valerie had shown her had only made it worse.

She even missed Sam. Redirecting her energy into this new plan to save Danny had pretty much burned away the last of her resentment over what had happened the night of his arrest, and after hearing from Valerie that Sam had a doctor's appointment later this afternoon, Dani wanted so much to call and hear from Sam's own lips that the baby—Dani's half-brother—was doing well. She didn't dare, however. She had kept herself insulated from everyone but Valerie and Tucker for a reason. She was afraid that if she saw any of them or even spoke to them on the phone, she'd let something slip, and after the fiasco the night of Danny's arrest, she knew talking to Sam in particular was a bad idea.

But Sam wasn't the only one she needed to avoid. Maddie had that maternal instinct and, after the harsh awakening she'd had when she'd discovered that Danny had been hiding a whole other life from her for two years, she'd learned to keep a much sharper eye. It was hard enough for Dani to keep her plans hidden from Valerie. Fortunately for her, Valerie was looking for signs that she was planning some sort of attack, not a legal maneuver, and Dani kept everything from Miguel on her tablet and only checked her e-mail from work or an internet café, never from home. Even so, she was always on edge, afraid that her plan would be discovered before she could secure Danny's freedom, so the last thing she needed was a whole family full of people she had to hide things from. That was why she had to keep them all at arm's length.

At least, that's what she told herself. In a small part of her heart, a part she didn't like to admit existed, she knew her bigger fear was that if she saw her family again, she wouldn't be able to do what she had to do. She wouldn't be able to leave them. With five months and five hundred miles of distance between them, it was easier to keep focused on what she needed to do for Danny. This way, she could almost convince herself she was only leaving Valerie and Tucker behind, not _everyone_ she loved.

Almost.

And so, with the homesickness and her growing fear that there would be no counter offer weighing on her, she found herself too distracted to be even remotely useful during her four-hour early morning shift. After putting a healthy dollop of whipped cream into a soy latte that was supposed to be both nonfat and non-dairy—her fourth incorrect order in the last fifteen minutes alone—she was considering begging off work early and go see Miguel to try and set up a new offer. It was nine-thirty, only a half an hour until her shift was scheduled to end anyway.

When her manager came out from the back room, Dani headed over to her. "Hey, Marty. I think I'm gonna need—" She stopped short, her heart leaping into her throat when she saw Miguel walk through the door. And by the look on his face, she could tell he had big news. She turned back to her manager. "—to take my break now, if that's okay."

Marty arched an eyebrow at her. "So that's why you've been so distracted the past few days. New boyfriend, eh?"

Dani blinked. "What?"

"He's cute." She squinted in Miguel's direction, checking him out. "A little old for you, maybe. What's he, like, forty?"

"How should I know? He's not my boyfriend. More of a… family friend. So, can I take my break now?"

Marty smiled. "Why don't you just call it a day? You're supposed to be off at ten anyway."

Dani slipped from behind the counter and met Miguel at a table in the corner where they could talk without being overheard. "You have news." It was a statement, not a question.

"I have news."

"Good news?"

He grinned at her. "They're prepared to release him tonight. Well, more like tomorrow morning. It'll probably be after midnight."

Dani squealed and lunged across the small table to throw her arms around Miguel's neck. "YES! I knew they'd go for it!"

"Don't get too excited yet," he said, backing off and looking a little embarrassed. "You have to accept the deal first."

Her euphoria evaporated. "They're not giving us everything."

"No. But pretty damn close. They're offering immunity for the foster parents and the biological mother."

"Same deal as before?"

He nodded, giving her a meaningful look. "Valerie will be safe, no matter what they find out about her. And they're giving Danny full immunity, too. He can use his ghost powers whenever and however he wants, so long as he doesn't use them to commit a real crime."

It was all she could do to keep from squealing again. "_Awesome!_ That's… wait. What's the bad news, then? The baby?"

"Immunity for the baby, should it have ghost powers. But just the one Sam's already carrying. No deal on any future children. They were really firm on that."

Dani sighed, deflated. "Well, that's just great. So everything's fine so long as Danny and Sam don't wanna have any more kids. How fair is that?"

"Dani, I think this is as good a deal as you're gonna get. It covers every single major thing that mattered for all the people who are alive today. Getting more than that was a pipe dream. Besides, Sam's done a pretty good job of protecting the baby. You've gotta trust her and Danny to take care of any future kids that come along. And with any luck, there won't be any anti-ecto laws or Guys in White by then."

She thought about it a moment, then nodded. "Yeah, you're right. It's too close to Christmas to quibble. Let's do it then."

He hesitated, a conflicted look in his eyes.

She frowned. "What?"

"Are you sure you wanna do this? Really sure?"

"Ugh. Miguel. What have we been planning the past three months? Of course I'm sure."

He leaned towards her, lowering his voice. "You understand that once you reveal who you are, that you will lose every right you have? They've managed to hold Danny for five months without a trial or any sort of communication with a lawyer or his family. And he was born fully human and an American citizen. How much worse will it be for you?"

She pursed her lips. "I'm human and an American citizen."

"With an entirely fictitious identity. You weren't _born_, Dani; you were _engineered_. It's part of why they're willing to trade Danny for you, because you're even more of an aberration in their eyes. But it's also something that's gonna give them a lot of power to do whatever they want to you. Are you sure—_really sure_—you're up for it?"

Sighing, she met his gaze. "No. But I have to do whatever I can to make sure Danny and his baby are safe. I owe him that much."

Miguel looked at her for a long moment, then nodded. "Okay. And no matter what _they_ think about your human rights, I'll still be your lawyer. The very next thing I'm gonna do is call Rob Collins at the Human-Ecto Alliance and arrange for a conference call for tomorrow morning, after Danny's release, so I can fill them in on the agreement you've made and we can all work together to figure out how to make Danny's case into your case. Because let me tell you something, Danielle Fenton. You were wrong about one thing—the world does need you. And I promise you this—I will not stop fighting until the world gets you back."

She had to blink to keep from tearing up. It had been a long three months since she'd first come to Miguel seeking his help. Through all their planning and then waiting it out together, they'd forged something of a friendship, and he was now the only person besides Valerie and Tucker with whom she'd had any sort of meaningful relationship since Danny's arrest. His concern for her served to simultaneously highlight her isolation from her family and give her one more tie that was painful to break. And yet, it comforted her as well. If the world needed her, it was because she was the one person who could bring Danny back, not weeks or months or years from now, but _tonight_. "I know, Miguel. And thanks."

He sniffed, giving her a self-deprecating grin. "Of course, it'll all be a moot point if your family kills me for arranging this thing in the first place."

"Are you kidding? You'll be a hero. The one who gave them Danny back."

"By taking away the person everyone from Danny on down was fighting to protect. I don't think they're going to be too thrilled with me."

"Oh, come on. Sam—"

"Chose to protect you over helping you save Danny. I expect a good dressing down from her in particular."

"They'll get over it, Miguel. Danny, home for Christmas. Home to see the _birth of his son_. It's worth it. They'll think so, too."

He looked like he wanted to say something more, but shook his head instead, becoming all business again. "I'll set up a meeting with the Guys in White for later today to sign all the documents, and when we have proof Danny's been released, you can drop the bomb on them." A smirk curled onto his lips. "I have to admit, I am looking forward to seeing the looks on their faces when they realize you've been under their noses the whole time."

"They're idiots. Idiots with power, which is what makes them so dangerous." Dani wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Now I just have to figure out how to keep Valerie from wondering where I got off to…" She trailed off as a thought occurred to her. "Wait. Can we meet in the evening? Like seven or eight?"

"Later would be better, yeah. We won't get confirmation they've released him until well after midnight."

"Good. Tucker and Val have an eight o'clock flight back to Amity Park, so they'll be leaving the apartment around five or five-thirty. With them gone, no one will wonder where I am at all hours of the night. I'd rather they not figure out I'm gone until Danny's back."

* * *

_   
**December 22, 10:30 am EST**   
_

"What do you mean, you're not going home tonight?" Dani gaped at Valerie. "You have a flight at eight o'clock!"

Valerie, who had an open suitcase and piles of clothes strewn around the floor of her bedroom but didn't seem to be in much of a hurry to actually finish packing, let out a grunt of irritation. "Unfortunately, the wonderful majority party has decided to hold things up. Tucker's been on quorum call since eight this morning, and it looks like they're gonna be in session all day. Probably well into the night."

"But it's _Christmas_! And… there's that vigil on Christmas Eve, and Maddie will be wanting everyone over at the house afterwards!" Dani was close to panicking now. If Valerie was here waiting around for Congress to finish their session, she was going to miss Danielle long before Danny was released, and if she got suspicious and started looking for her… Dani shook her head. "Well, you can go anyway, can't you Val?"

Valerie shook her head. "I'm not going without Tucker. We'll book another flight as soon as we have a better idea when they're gonna adjourn. I'm sure we'll still get home by Christmas Eve." She crossed her arms and arched an eyebrow at her. "What's it matter to you, anyway? You refused to come. _Again_."

Dani wasn't sure what to say. "You just _have_ to go home, that's all. I…"

Valerie got a strange look on her face, and her eyes widened. "Oh, my gosh! You _do_ want to go home, don't you? You're just too stubborn to admit it!"

"I…" And then it hit her. She was _never_ going home. At least not for a long, long time. She wouldn't see Maddie or Jack. She wouldn't see Jazz or Nick or Charley. She wouldn't see Sam. She wouldn't be there when Danny came home, or for Tucker and Valerie's wedding. She wouldn't be there when Danny's baby—her own little brother—was born. She wouldn't even get the chance to say good-bye to any of them. Instead, she was going someplace she couldn't even imagine. Someplace where they would see her as a _thing_, a lab rat to be experimented on. It would be like her time with Vlad all over again.

The full impact of what she was about to do suddenly terrified her, and she started shaking. "Oh, God, Val," she breathed. "I wanna go home. I do." Tears started streaming down her cheeks before she could blink them back, and then she completely lost all control of her emotions. "I just wanna go home and see my family."

Pulling Dani into her arms, Valerie held her tightly, stroking her hair as Dani sobbed against her shoulder. "Shh. Dani, it's okay."

And Dani clung to her, the only person, along with Tucker, that she hadn't shut out of her life after Danny's arrest. She had thought it would be easier this way, that it wouldn't feel so much like leaving them all if she'd already left them. But she missed them all so much, it threatened to engulf her, and she had to bite down on the inside of her cheek as she cried to keep from telling Valerie everything. _I don't want to do this. I want to go_ home…

But she _had_ to do this. Danny needed her to. The baby needed her to. She struggled to push the fear back down, to regain control over it so she could do what she had to do, for them. _For Danny, you have to bring back Danny, he gave up everything for you, you can't let him down now…_

She almost didn't hear Valerie's quiet voice over the roar of her own emotions. "Listen, Dani. I have an idea. Why don't I call the airline and see if I can transfer my ticket over to you?"

It took a moment for the words to sink in. "I… wait. What?"

Valerie pulled back to face her, gripping her shoulders. "I'm sure we can talk the airlines into letting you have the seat I'm giving up if I drop the good congressman's name—and a nice big change fee—and explain the situation. Then you can go home and see everyone, and we'll get there as soon as we can."

Dani took a deep breath as an idea began to form. If Valerie and Tucker thought she was in Amity Park and everyone else thought she was in D.C…. She wiped her eyes with the heel of her hand. "Really? I… I can…?" She couldn't say _go home_. Not when she knew that she never would.

"Well, duh! I've only been trying to get you to go for three months now!" Valerie smiled at her. "Let's arrange it now, and then we can give the Fentons a call—"

"No!" Dani shook her head. When Valerie looked confused at her abrupt reply, she backpedaled. "I… I want to surprise them, that's all. The flight'll get in kinda late, and then there's the shuttle ride from Chicago. I think maybe I should stay the night at your place, and then go surprise them first thing in the morning, okay?"

"You'll go first thing in the morning?"

"First thing."

"I can tell Tucker, though, right? He's supposed to call on their next recess."

"Yeah, you can tell Tucker. Just let me surprise Jack and Maddie and everyone."

"Okay, then." Valerie squeezed her arm. "Let's call the airline and see what we can do to get you home."


	58. Danielle: Part IX

_ **Washington, D.C.  
December 22, 6:00 pm EST** _

By the time their cab pulled up to the Terminal C Departing Flights curb at Reagan National Airport, it had already been one of the longest days of Danielle's life. Valerie had stuck to her like Jack to a new ectoplasmic weapon the whole day, even insisting on coming with her in the cab. It was all Dani could do to keep on an even keel and let neither her anticipation over Danny's impending release nor her fear over what lay ahead for her leak out and give anything away. Fortunately, when she did get overemotional, Valerie just interpreted it as excitement and nervousness about going home again. It gave her a new appreciation for Danny, however, and what he'd gone through the night of his arrest. She had no idea how he'd managed to get through that night, going to each one of his family and friends to say good-bye, with all of them knowing exactly what awaited him. She was barely able to say good-bye just to Valerie, who had no idea they wouldn't see each other again for quite possibly a very long time.

_Or never._ But she pushed that thought away.

While the cab driver got Danielle's luggage out of the trunk, Valerie played mother hen. "Are you sure you don't want me to come in—?"

"Ugh, Val, no. I'm not ten, and I don't need a chaperone. Go home! Or go out patrolling for ghosts or something. You can't go past security anyway." _Not that _I'll_ be going past security…_

"Okay, okay, I get it. I'm just… I'm so glad you're finally going to see your family again. Don't wait for me and Tucker, okay? Go see the Fentons first thing tomorrow morning. They really miss you. Maddie and Jack—"

Dani swallowed, trying not to lose it as she nodded numbly. "I know, Valerie."

"And Sam. You'll see Sam? She misses you, too, Dani. You know that, right?"

"Yeah. And… I get what she did and why she did it. I do."

"Then tell her, okay? These last five months have been so hard on her."

Dani was going to start crying again, she knew it. "I know. I want… I'll make it up to her, Val. And Jack and Maddie and Jazz and everyone. I promise." Then, she couldn't keep the emotions in check any longer, and she threw herself at Valerie, wrapping her arms around her in a tight embrace. "I love you so much, Valerie. Thank you for everything," she choked out before the tears started flowing, making it difficult to say anything more.

"Hey, it's just a plane ticket."

"Not the plane ticket. For… everything the past few months. You didn't have to put up with me and my moping."

Valerie pulled back to look at her, her hands on Dani's shoulders. "I don't 'put up with' you, Dani. You know better than that. You just have a good reunion with everyone, and Tuck and I will see you… hopefully tomorrow night. Christmas Eve for sure, okay?"

Dani bit the inside of her cheek as she nodded. "Yeah. Christmas Eve."

When Valerie got back into the cab and it pulled away, Dani took her luggage inside the terminal, but instead of going to the ticket counter, she found a café where she could get something light to eat. She wasn't hungry, but who knew what kind of horrible glop she'd be eating from now on? Trying not to think about it, she instead got herself a sandwich and a salad, then sat down at a semi-quiet table in the back corner of the little café and took out her tablet. She had one more thing she needed to do before meeting Miguel at his office at ten o'clock.

She had to say good-bye to everyone.

It felt like a cop-out, writing letters instead of doing it in person, like Danny had, but there was no other way. It wasn't ideal, but at least they would know that she loved them, and why she had stayed away so long.

Jazz was the easiest, so she started with her. The "big sister" who had taken Dani under her wing without question when she'd come to live with the Fentons, Jazz had helped guide her towards turning her curiosity about her own illness and strange physiology into a future career in medicine with a strong background in parabiology. It was hard, cutting her studies short only a year into med school, but she hoped that it wouldn't be too late for her to get back into it if… no. _When_ she was eventually released.

Next, she wrote to Jack and Maddie. Although her biological grandparents, they were true parents in every way that mattered. She remembered when Danny had first rescued her from Vlad and his ectoranium "experiments," how he'd exploded when she'd called Vlad her "dad." She hadn't known then that he was her biological father, and Danny himself had just found out mere hours before. But when he'd wanted to show her what a _real_ father was, Jack was the one to whom he'd pointed. And Jack had definitely been that to her—a real father, who had loved her and embarrassed her and everything real fathers did—for the last nine years. Maddie, too, had been a real mother to her, and it was so hard to say everything she needed to say to them in one stupid letter. There was so much to explain, so much hurt she knew she'd caused when she'd shut them out of her life for five months, first out of guilt at her responsibility for them losing their only son, and then out of fear that they would somehow find out and stop her from getting him back. A letter wasn't sufficient for her to express everything they meant to her, and she struggled for the better part of an hour trying to get it just right.

When she finally finished, she wasn't sure whether to do Valerie's or Sam's letter next. Both would be extremely difficult to write, but for very different reasons. She settled on Valerie's letter first, which ended up being three pages, single-spaced, as she explained everything she'd done and why she'd done it, hoping that the woman who was both her biological mother and one of her most cherished friends would understand and forgive her for keeping her in the dark for so long.

Sam's was shorter, but no less difficult to write. It wasn't so much an explanation as an apology for what she'd said the night of Danny's arrest, and how she'd shut Sam out since then. She understood now why Sam had done what she'd done, and how it was better this way, the _legal_ way. The explanation would come in the form of the legal documents Miguel would be sending her.

It was a little past eight o'clock—her flight to Chicago had just left without her—when she'd finished Sam's letter. That meant it was seven o'clock in Amity Park, and Sam would have long since returned from her doctor's appointment and was probably working on Danny's case or eating dinner. It was almost overwhelming, the urge to know how that appointment had gone and how the baby was doing, but it was too late now for Dani to reach across the chasm she herself had created. She had to stay focused on what lay ahead. With a little more than an hour before she'd have to head off to Miguel's office, she had just enough time for the one letter that remained for her to write.

Danny's.

As hard as the others had been, this one was hardest of all. Danny, the person who was quite literally the reason she existed. The person who'd saved her from Vlad no less than three times, even after she'd helped kidnap him to try to steal yet more of his DNA. After all that, despite the fact that she was a living reminder of the way he'd been violated by his worst enemy, he'd accepted her as a part of him and loved her more than she could ever have imagined anyone could, at least not back then, when Vlad was her only model for what a family was. Everything Danny took on himself, willingly, from the Guys in White and other ghost haters, he did for her. To make the world better for _her_.

And now, he was going to be a _real_ father. He was going to have a son who would need him just as much as she had. More. For him, for the little brother she might never meet, she had to do whatever she could to get Danny back home, safe.

It took her five or six tries and most of the remaining hour before she finally had a letter that was remotely close to what she wanted to say. It wasn't enough. No letter could be. But there was only time for one more read-through before she had to leave the airport to meet Miguel, so it would have to do. She would print off all of the letters at his office before their appointment with the Guys in White.

Cursoring back to the top of the page, she began reading one last time.

_Danny—_

_There are so many things I want to say to you, things that I could never get down into one letter. Things I could never even get out in words, even if I had the chance. But I'm going to try, because I owe you that much._

_I know you're going to be angry at what I've done after all you went through to protect me. But you have bigger concerns now. You'll have a son soon—a newborn baby who is going to need you. And the world needs, you Danny. Not just as an icon who was willing to give himself up for the greater good, but as someone who is here, every day, to help people who need the kind of help only you can give. We both know that if it had been me instead of you there that night when that boy got stuck on the train tracks, he would have died. Not because I wouldn't have wanted to save him, but because I couldn't. I couldn't have gotten to him before the train did, and even if I could have, it's likely I wouldn't have been able to maintain intangibility long enough to get him safely away. That boy is alive today only because of your unique gifts, and because of your sense of obligation to use them to help others whenever you can, even if it's to your own detriment._

_And that, Danny, is the lesson I've learned from you. Doing the right thing isn't just about protecting the people you love. It's about protecting people everywhere. It's about giving everyone a chance for a better life, or for life at all. The night you were arrested, you were right to do what you did. You and Sam both. And I was wrong. I wanted so much to save you because of how important you are to me, but I didn't stop to count the cost to others. To the world. To the unborn son you didn't even know existed. To run away like I wanted to do then would have caused irreparable damage to everything you and Sam and Tucker and our family have been fighting for for nearly a decade. I was so angry at Sam, angry at you for letting them take you, but I understand now that it was the right thing, the only thing to do._

_So now it's your turn to understand. By the time you read this, I will have done what I needed to do—the right thing, the only thing I can do. The world needs you. Your family needs you. Your son needs you. If I can get you back the right way, the legal way, the way you would do it, then isn't it exactly what I have to do? You taught me that much._

_Please don't blame my lawyer, Miguel, for the part he's played in this. He is a wonderful, dedicated man who is no happier about what is going to happen to me than you or Valerie or any of our family will be. He will work hard with Sam and her lawyers to fight to bring me home, so I'm asking you to let him do that. He only agreed to help me because he understands, like I do (and like you do, too, if you're honest with yourself) that there is something more important here than one person, no matter how much you love that one person. There's a world that needs changing… that needs saving. You've already done both, changed and saved the world, and I know you will continue to do both. This, then, is my role to play. The one thing, for which I am uniquely qualified, that I can do to change things for the better. Not just for the people we love, but for everyone who doesn't want to live in a world where being different can be a death sentence._

_Tucker told me what you said to him the night you were arrested: "This is the fight that's in front of us, and this is my part in it." Well, this is still the fight that's in front of us, and this is my part in it. I'm asking you to support me now, just like you asked us to support you then._

_But more than anything, Danny, I want you to go on living your life on your own terms. I want you to be the father your son needs and the hero the world needs. And keep fighting—the right way—so that one day they'll have to release me, too, and we can be together again._

_Until then, know that I love you, and I am so thankful to have you in my life._

_—Dani_

* * *

_   
**December 23, 4:15 am EST**   
_

Dani was dozing across three hard, plastic chairs pushed against the wall of the stark interrogation room when the door banged open, startling her awake. She jolted upright and jumped to her feet as O. and K. came into the room. A glance at the clock showed her that it was quarter after four, which meant she and Miguel had been waiting more than five hours, but she didn't care. Her stomach did a little flip as she realized… _This is it._

O. strode to the table at the center of the room while K. went to the wall and held his hand to a metal plate there. A panel in the wall opened up, revealing a screen. K. punched a few buttons on the control board beside it, then joined O. at the table.

Dani and Miguel sat down with them as well, Dani perched at the end of her seat. O. motioned at the screen as a dark green-and-black image of what looked like the front of Danny and Sam's house appeared. "We've just received confirmation that Daniel Fenton has been released at his home in Amity Park. This was night vision video taken just eight minutes ago, at 3:07 am local time."

Dani gripped the edge of her seat until her knuckles turned white, and Miguel reached over and put a comforting hand on her arm. On the screen, she could see a white van pull up in front of the house. The door opened, and two men in white suits escorted a third man in dark clothes to the door. Dani had to lean even closer and squint, but she still couldn't make out any details. "Is that…?"

"Increase resolution," O. instructed K. The latter punched a few more buttons on the control board, and the image zoomed in and lightened.

Dani gasped. It was him. No doubt about it. He looked a little haggard, and she didn't recognize the coat or clothes he was wearing, but even in the weird green night vision image, she could tell by his eyes that it was him. His hands were bound behind his back by what looked like regular handcuffs. Odd that they'd use that instead of some sort of anti-ghost restraints, but she guessed that they might have put one of those Spectral Energy Neutralizer bands on him to dampen his powers.

One of his escorts fiddled with the handcuffs, and then he was free of them. Then they gave him a small shove toward the door before returning to the van, leaving Danny alone on the porch. He stood there a moment, as if trying to get his bearings before the video ended.

Dani blinked, looking from the screen to O. and K. "That's_ it_? You just dumped him on his porch in the middle of the night and left him there? His wife did know he was being released tonight, right?"

K. smirked at her. "I don't believe the agreement you signed said anything about _how _the prisoner was to be released or whether anyone should be notified ahead of time."

She gaped at them. "You have got to be kidding me! You didn't even notify his _wife_?"

"We kept our part of the deal," O. said, a smug look on his face. "Now it's your turn. Tell us where we can find the child."

Dani glanced at Miguel, who gave her the barest of nods. Then, narrowing her eyes and shifting her jaw, she leaned back in her seat and crossed her arms. "There is no child."

The effect was like she'd set Skulker loose into the room. Both men jerked forward, their haughty expressions evaporating into alarm. "What?"

Now it was Dani's turn to smirk. "Did you morons really believe for one second that I would turn over an eleven-year-old _child _to you? How heartless do you think I am?"

O. slapped the communicator on his left wrist and brought it up to his mouth. "Situation alpha-seven-six-slash-omega! Operation White Flag is abort! I repeat; Operation White Flag is abort! Prisoner one-one-three-eight is to be taken back into custody—"

"Gentlemen!" Miguel silenced them with his commanding voice and an upraised hand. "I believe you misunderstood my client. She fully intends to fulfill her part of the bargain, so I suggest you call off the hounds if you want to know where to find Mr. Fenton's daughter."

The two agents glared at him, and even behind their matching dark glasses, Dani could see their confusion. It was hard not to laugh. K. motioned towards Dani. "She just said there _was _no daughter—"

"You really don't listen, do you?" She shook her head. "I said there was no _child_. I didn't say there was no _daughter_."

The Guys in White traded glances, then O. said into his communicator, "Operation White Flag is on hold. Do not apprehend the prisoner, but wait for further instructions." Slapping off the communicator, he scowled at Dani. "No more games, Ms. Fenton. At any point we can take Mr. Fenton back into custody if you fail to meet the terms of our agreement. Are you going to turn over the location of Mr. Fenton's daughter, or aren't you?"

"Of course I am, but first, I have to tell you a little story. About Vlad Masters."

K. shook his head. "We're not interested in Vlad Masters. Story time is over. Give us the girl, or your cousin is coming back into custody."

"You'll have her soon enough. She's closer than you think, in fact. But you'll never find her unless you know exactly what it is you're looking for. To do that, you have to understand a little bit more about exactly what kind of sick and twisted creep Vlad Masters really was."

O. frowned. "What do you mean?"

She looked from one to the other. "Vlad Masters wasn't just interested in Danny Fenton because of his powers. He was _obsessed _with him. Not only were they both ghost hybrids with similar origins, but Danny was _Maddie _Fenton's son, and Vlad had been obsessed with her for twenty years. It wasn't enough for him to defeat Danny, or to use his DNA for experiments he wasn't willing to conduct on himself. He wanted to _possess _him as the son he would never have, not with Maddie or anyone else. Not surprisingly, Danny wasn't exactly on board with this plan, and when Vlad began to realize he would never convince Danny to join him, he decided he would create his own perfect half-ghost son by cloning him."

K. raised an eyebrow. "Vlad Masters cloned Daniel Fenton? I thought you said he used his DNA in combination with someone else's to create a genetic offspring, not a clone."

"He did both, actually. But if you know anything about how cloning works, you'll understand that it's not quite like what you see in sci-fi movies or TV shows, where the clone pops out a fully-grown duplicate of the original. Cloning merely replicates the DNA of the host, which then must be grown from embryo stage through adulthood just like any other human being. Of course, Vlad wasn't interested in having a baby that would take fifteen years to grow into the teenager he already wanted as his son. He wanted a fifteen-year-old like Danny was, and he wanted it right away. That meant accelerated growth.

"The problem with accelerated growth, however, is that it is extremely unstable. Very few clones can survive maturing fifteen years within just a few months, and the few clones that did survive were mutated beyond recognition—very unstable. One blast of a ghost ray, or too much use of their own ghost powers, and they melted into ectoplasmic goo. Vlad knew even before he started that this would be a problem. That might be why he decided that, in addition to the clones, he would biogenetically engineer an offspring out of Danny's DNA. Or maybe he wanted to test the process in the hopes that he could someday create a child combining his own DNA with Maddie Fenton's. I don't really know why he did it. But what I do know is that the girl was little more than a half-human/half-ghost lab rat to him. He used her to test out the dangerous growth acceleration, maturing her twelve years in the space of several months."

"Twelve years?" O.'s eyebrows went up behind his dark glasses. "Are you saying…?"

"The girl you're looking for isn't an eleven-year-old child. She's a twenty-three year old adult. When Danny and his parents discovered her true identity, it was two years later, and she wasn't a baby, but a fourteen-year-old teenager. Jack and Maddie Fenton arranged for suitable foster parents for her—_themselves_. They created a false identity, claiming she was a distant cousin of Jack's who had lost her parents in an accident, and they took her into their home, raising her like their own daughter from the time she was fourteen."

She could see in their faces the moment the pieces came together for them. O.'s jaw dropped open, and K. jumped to his feet, pointing a black-gloved finger at her. "You! _You're_ Danny Fenton's _daughter_?"

"You're a _ghost_?" O. added.

Dani grinned. "Surprise." And then she disappeared.


	59. The Ghost of Christmas Present: Part XV

_ **The Realm of the Far Frozen  
December 23, Time Unknown** _

Sam always felt a little disjointed when she had occasion to be in the medical center of the Realm of the Far Frozen. The futuristic facility, with its high-tech equipment and de-icing chambers that resembled bacta tanks straight out of _Star Wars_, was incongruous with the rest of the Realm, which was more like a Tibetan village in the Himalayas than something out of a sci-fi movie. Like the rest of the city, the med center was built into an ice cave, and Sam was freezing even huddled in her parka and the sweater she'd changed into before coming to the Ghost Zone, but where the other caves where earthy and decorated with animal skins and cave paintings, this cave had complicated scanners and diagnostic equipment attached to the walls. Right now, however, the incongruity was more comforting than disorienting, and she was thankful for all that technology, which Maddie, Jack, Dr. Mihashi, Frostbite, and two of Frostbite's people were huddled around. They hadn't yet figured out how to get the poison out of Danny's system without killing him in the process, but Sam had faith that the three humans and three ghost-creatures would find an answer.

They had to.

Danny himself was lying unconscious in a gigantic hospital bed in the corner of the room, Sam and Jazz holding vigil on either side of him. He looked like a child sleeping in that bed built for the mammoth snow creatures, which only added to the perception that he was frail and vulnerable. On the up side, Sam was glad that his illness didn't require submersion in one of the de-icing tanks, since she found them slightly disturbing for reasons she couldn't explain, other than perhaps they conjured up images of Mark Hamill in a giant diaper, and she had no desire to see Danny so outfitted.

It had been about three hours since their arrival, and they were no closer to figuring out how to help him than they'd been back in Amity Park, despite the numerous scans Frostbite had done. Danny seemed to be holding his own, however, and as Sam clung to his hand, she prayed silently that they would find the answer and get rid of the anti-ghost drug in his system before it killed him. Whether or not they could do it without completely incapacitating his ghost powers was uncertain but, at this point, Sam just wanted him alive, whatever it took. She'd waited too long and fought too hard to lose him now, at the very moment she'd just gotten him back.

While they waited, several ghostly visitors flitted in and out. Word had spread quickly through the Ghost Zone that Danny Phantom was alive and in the Realm of the Far Frozen, and many of them came by to see for themselves. Once, the Realm of the Far Frozen had been isolated from the rest of the Ghost Zone, with its people keeping pretty much to themselves and the rest of the ghosts leaving them alone, but during the Ghost Zone Civil War that Vlad had started nine years earlier, the Far Frozen had become the main center of resistance against Vlad's forces. After that, many of the ghosts felt as much at home here as anywhere else in the Zone. It always was strange to Sam, however, how the various alliances and truces among the ghosts shifted over time, like a microcosm of international politics in the Human World. While Fright Knight and Aragon had sided with Vlad back during the Civil War, and Walker had been an ally, now the former two came to see Danny and bring their wishes for his recovery, while the latter was _phasma non grata_ among the rest of the ghosts.

Skulker came, too, and Sam was oddly comforted by his insistence that Danny must recover so he could have his pelt at the foot of his bed. He was still there when the Box Ghost arrived, along with his daughter, Box Lunch, who left an ordinary, non-ghost-catching thermos at Danny's bedside as sort of a tribute. The three of them had just left when the sound of turbines flared outside the medical facility and, moments later, Tucker and Valerie came in, heading straight for Danny's bed.

Tucker nodded to Sam and Jazz in greeting. "How is he? Any better?"

Sam shrugged. "Not better, but at least not worse. They're still working on finding a way to get the Umbranol out of his system."

"What about ecto-purifier?" Tucker asked.

Jazz shook her head. "It won't work, and the various treatments Frostbite's people use could be dangerous for humans. They're considering trying to overshadow him and force him into ghost form so that they can try one of their treatments, but that could hasten the Umbranol's effect, so…" She trailed off.

Tucker nodded blankly, and Sam frowned, noticing for the first time the tired and drawn look on his face. Valerie, too, looked miserable, her eyes red and puffy, as if she'd been crying. Sam's stomach took a nervous dive. "You look like you have bad news. Don't tell me the flu bill passed."

"No, it failed. And the media's already putting the pressure on the FDA to slow down the approval of Fluumbrazin." But Tucker still sounded blank and deflated, and Valerie was blinking a lot, as if to stop herself from crying again.

"Okay… so why are you not celebrating?"

Tucker's eyes flicked down to Danny before meeting Sam's again. "We should talk outside." He looked across the bed to Jazz. "You, too, Jazz."

"Why?" Jazz looked as anxious as Sam felt. "What's wrong?"

His lips pressed together in a thin line, Tucker shook his head and then jerked it towards the door. Then, his arm across Valerie's shoulders, he ushered her outside.

Sam and Jazz exchanged looks before getting up to follow them. Outside, the bleak, bluish-purple sky—so different from the weird, mottled, black-and-green "sky" that enveloped most of the Ghost Zone—darkened the icy landscape, making the Far Frozen seem stark and lifeless, despite the warmth of the residents that inhabited it. Sam wrapped her arms around herself above her swollen abdomen and stomped her boots in the snow in an attempt to get warm as she looked to Tucker expectantly. "Well, what is it? What's wrong?"

He looked at Valerie, who lowered her head and closed her eyes. His arm was still around her shoulders, and he gave her a comforting squeeze before he turned to Sam and Jazz. "We know why the Guys in White released Danny."

Sam's eyes widened, but Jazz folded her arms, looking angry. "It's because of the Umbranol, isn't it? They think they've killed him, or at least purged his ghost powers, so they don't need to keep him anymore."

"No. Well…" Tucker reconsidered. "Actually, that probably played a part in it. But that's not what I'm talking about." He glanced at Valerie again, who was still looking down at the ground. Facing Sam and Jazz once more, he sighed. "It's Danielle. She worked out a deal with them."

Sam gasped. "What? What kind of deal?"

Valerie looked up now, and her eyes were full of tears. "She traded herself for Danny."

"She _what_?"

Jazz was no less incredulous. "What do you mean, she _traded_ herself? I thought she was in Amity Park, at your house!"

"She…" Valerie faltered, and Tucker took up the story.

"She never got on the plane. That's why Valerie took so long when she went to get her—Dani wasn't at the townhouse, and Val was trying to find out from the airline if she ever got on the plane. It was a diversion, saying she was coming home. Apparently, she found some lawyer in D.C. who helped her work out a deal like the one Danny made when he came forward. Full immunity for Danny, for the baby, and for Valerie, if they ever figure out about the suit."

"What?" Sam's hand went automatically to her abdomen. "She… she got immunity for the baby? How? What lawyer?"

"That guy who helped you set up the Human-Ecto Alliance back when you were in college. She found his name in your files."

Sam blinked. "Miguel Sanchez?" And then it hit her. He was the same lawyer who'd asked for a conference call with her and Rob and their other lawyers this morning… "Oh, no." She looked at Valerie, who was starting to break down. "Valerie. I'm so sorry. I never… This isn't how I wanted Danny back."

Valerie nodded, looking up at her. "What am I supposed to tell him? I was supposed to be the one who looked out for her, who kept her from doing anything stupid."

Tucker pulled her closer. "I told you, baby. It wasn't stupid. It was _smart_. Not what we wanted, but smart. She protected everyone she loved in one move. And she's not a little kid. You're not responsible for her."

"I don't understand," Jazz said. "How did you find out about all this?"

"The lawyer." Valerie reached into her coat. "He came to the apartment in Alexandria just when I was going out to search for her. He brought me letters that she wrote for us. One for each of you, and for your parents, Jazz, and one for Danny." She pulled out four envelopes and looked through them, handing Jazz and Sam one each. Sam looked at the one Valerie had given her and saw her name written in Dani's handwriting. Valerie, meanwhile, put the other two envelopes in her pocket and pulled out a larger manila mailer, handing that to Sam as well. "And I think these are the legal documents. He said he was sending copies to your lawyers by messenger."

Sam took this envelope as well and opened it first, skimming the contents quickly. "She… oh man. She agreed to 'disclose the identity and location of Daniel Fenton's biological daughter' in exchange for…" She sucked in her breath. "_Everything_. They can't touch Danny for anything ecto-related, not unless he commits a real crime. And the baby, and 'the child's biological mother.'"

Jazz blinked. "'The child's biological mother?' You mean you?"

Perplexed by Jazz's question, Sam frowned, and then she understood what Jazz meant. "No, not the baby's mother. _Dani's_ biological mother. They're talking about Valerie." Sam gripped the documents so tightly she was in danger of crumpling them as she looked up at the others. "Those _bastards_. They thought she was giving them the name of an eleven-year-old _child_."

"They were willing to give up Danny to get a _kid_?" Jazz's expression was a cross between horror and confusion.

"Sure they were." Tucker's voice sounded like he'd swallowed sand. "They'd already poisoned him. What more could they do? Now they've got a genetic offspring with the same powers. More to ex—" He stopped short, realizing a little too late that he was only upsetting Valerie more. He squeezed her again. "She'll be fine. We're gonna get the press on this big time, and after the whole flu vaccine scam, we're gonna have enough support in Congress to do an investigation. They're not gonna be able to do to her what they did with Danny. I promise you that, Val."

Sam clenched her jaw, furious. "I can't believe Miguel would do this! He was my legal advisor back when we formed the Human-Ecto Alliance, before I was even in law school. How could he be a part of turning an _innocent girl_ over to those monsters?" She saw his business card clipped to the front of the stack of legal documents. "I need to talk to him. And to Rob Collins. I need to know what's going on." She looked at Jazz. "You can call out of the Ghost Zone into the regular phone system in the Human World from the Specter Speeder, right?"

Jazz nodded. "Use the Fenton Phones and dial in on the console. You have to treat it like an international call, so dial zero-zero-one, then the area code." She sighed. "While you're doing that, we should go tell Mom and Dad."

"Yeah, that's a good idea." Sam turned to Valerie, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Tucker's right, Val. We are _so_ gonna nail them for this after what they did to Danny. They will not do the same thing to Danielle."

Valerie gave her a weak smile, and Sam squeezed her shoulder before turning to head towards where they'd left the Specter Speeder at the far end of the village. She only wished she felt as confident as she'd sounded to Valerie. Their entire case was built on _Danny's_ imprisonment. They might have to start over from scratch now that Danielle was the plaintiff, and without doing a very careful reading of the contract in her hand, she wasn't sure how well all the work they'd done in Danny's defense would translate over to Danielle's rather different circumstances. She needed to talk to Rob Collins and the lawyers from Amnesty and the ACLU to even begin to sort everything out, but first she wanted to talk to the person who had done this in the first place.

When she was seated in the Specter Speeder with a Fenton Phone firmly in place in her ear, she dialed the number on the business card.

"Miguel Sanchez."

She was too angry for pleasantries or even to identify herself. "How could you?"

There was a pause, and then she heard a sigh through the Fenton Phone. "Sam Fenton. It's been a long time. I take it Ms. Gray has delivered the paperwork?"

"Never mind the paperwork. I wanna know how you could do this to me and my family. She's my husband's cous—" She stopped herself from finishing the lie that came so naturally to her lips. "She's his _daughter_, Miguel. The reason he let them arrest him in the first place, and you just helped them _take_ her?"

"She would've done it with or without my help, Sam. I wanted her to have the best deal possible."

"Do you realize what you've sent her off to? What they'll do to her? They almost…" She stopped, swallowing over the lump in her throat. "They almost killed Danny. We still don't… we don't know if he'll pull through, and if he does, we don't know if he'll still have his ghost powers. And he's stronger than she is."

"I heard about what they did to him on the news." His voice was low and she could hear the anger rolling under the surface. "I just finished a conference call with your lawyers, and we talked a long time about that. It may constitute a breach of good faith."

"Ugh, Miguel! I'm not here to talk law with you! This is my _family_. She's my… my _stepdaughter_. And you helped them _arrest_ her."

"I know, Sam. And believe me, it killed me to do it. She's… she's a courageous woman, and someone I've grown to care about like she were my own family, so believe me when I say it was not an easy or happy thing to do. But she's also a stubborn woman. I assume you know this."

She hissed out a long breath between her teeth. "Yeah. She's definitely that."

"When she first came to me, back in September, I didn't want to do it. I didn't want those _pendejos_ getting anywhere near a nice kid like that. But she was pretty determined, and I was afraid she was going to try it without a lawyer, so I agreed to help her." And then he told Sam how they'd gone to the Guys in White in October, after she'd publicly confirmed her pregnancy, and how they'd signed the deal just last night, when Danny would have already been en route home. "You should've seen her tell them that the 'little girl' they were looking for was right under their noses all along."

"They… they didn't hurt her, did they? When they arrested her?"

"No. It was nothing like that video of your husband's arrest. Well, they did panic for a second when she disappeared to prove she really was half ghost, but she reappeared right away, and I made it clear I would be talking to the media if they handled her arrest the way they handled Danny's. They didn't want a repeat of all that bad press, so they just put ghost-proof cuffs on her and led her away."

"Have they let her speak with you since then?"

"What do you think?"

Sam leaned back in her seat with a weary sigh. "Miguel, do you have any idea what Danny has gone through to protect her? What all of us have gone through? This is going to devastate him. What am I supposed to tell him when he wakes up?"

"She left a letter for him. It explains everything."

"We can't just give him a letter! I'm going to have to tell him what she's done first."

"Tell him…" There was a pause before he answered, and when he did, there was almost a reverence to his voice. "Tell him he taught her well."


	60. Epilogue: The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come

_ **Amity Park  
December 24, 4:30 pm CST** _

_ **One Year Later** _

Sam looked out of the Fentons' living room window onto the darkening streets of Amity Park. It was snowing, and the ground was already covered in soft, white drifts that reflected back the green and red Christmas lights draped around the window, along with the green and orange neon FentonWorks sign above the door, and the faint green glow of the Ghost Shield that not only surrounded the house, but was infused through all the walls and floors as well. It was almost sundown on Christmas Eve, which meant the Christmas Truce would be in effect shortly, so they weren't trying to keep ghosts _out_ so much as they were making sure one particular half-ghost stayed _in_.

In the window's reflection, she watched her nine-month-old son, who was sitting on a blanket in the middle of the floor in the sunken living room behind her, chewing on a bright green ring decorated with smiling white ghosts. He was teething, and that ring, a present from Grandpa Jack, was the only thing that seemed to soothe him. Next to him, his two-year-old cousin was playing with a dilapidated stuffed bear that resembled Albert Einstein with his eyes removed. She was using it to try to get the baby's attention. At first, he wasn't interested, but after she danced the bear in front of him, he would reach for it, and she would snatch it back, crying, "MINE!"

Watching them through the hazy reflection of the window gave Sam the rather wistful sense that she was looking through a time portal at a young Jazz and Danny instead of their respective children. Charley, with just enough red hair to pull back into tiny pigtails on top of her head and wide blue eyes that resonated with the confidence that she and she alone knew exactly how the world ought to work, was Jazz in miniature. And her cousin, like his father before him, seemed only to want to find his own place in the world, preferably one not dominated by a bossy, overbearing, older female relative who was determined to make him her pet project. Sam was sure if she were to snap a photograph of this moment, she could find several just like it in one of Maddie's old photo albums.

As if to complete the sense that she was looking through a window in time, Sam could hear Jack and Maddie rehashing their same old Christmas quarrel while Maddie basted the Christmas turkey and Jack set up two folding tables and several chairs in the large open area next to the stairs just outside the kitchen door. Nick was helping him and, in between fighting with Maddie about the existence of Santa Claus, Jack was arguing with him about whether or not they could squeeze all seventeen chairs plus one high chair around those two tables, or if they had to haul another one down from the Op-Center.

"I'm telling you, Maddie, if the Specter Speeder can get to Saturn through a Ghost Portal, then why wouldn't a sleigh be able to traverse the globe in a single night? And we can totally squeeze nine chairs around each table, Nicky."

"I hardly think a reindeer-powered sleigh has the same capabilities as a rocket-powered vehicle designed for spirit-plane exploration. The aerodynamics alone make it unfeasible."

"Kinda like trying to fit nine chairs at one table. I'm gonna go get another one from the Op-Center, Jack."

"Stay right there, Nicky. We don't need another table. And who needs aerodynamics if you're traveling through another dimension?"

"You're not actually proposing that Santa Claus uses _Ghost Portals_ to—"

Another cry of "MINE!", punctuated by a high-pitched wailing, drowned out the arguments from the kitchen area. Sam turned around to see that her son had dropped his teething ring in his attempt to reach for the stuffed bear, and he couldn't find it again.

Sam sighed and got up from the couch. "Hold on, Mommy's coming." She squatted down beside him and picked up the green ring, but before she could hand it to him, he disappeared. _Great_. Fortunately for her, he'd only gone invisible, not intangible and, a moment later, she felt his fingers curl around the ring in her hand. Then, it was floating in the air, once more getting soaked by drool.

"Charlotte Madeline Reilly!" Jazz had come down the stairs just in time to see the floating ring. "Are you teasing your cousin with Bearbert again?"

"MINE!" Charley insisted, hugging the bear to her.

Jazz descended the two steps into the sunken living room and scooped up her daughter. "No, it's _Mommy's_ bear, and if you want to play with it, you have to play nice. No teasing your cousin!" She set Charley down a few feet away from the floating ring and gave Sam an apologetic look. "Sorry."

"No big. He didn't go intangible or start to float this time, and his powers are too weak to make the teething ring invisible, so we can keep track of him by watching it."

She'd learned a lot of tricks over the last nine months for keeping a close eye on her son when he wasn't wearing the Spectral Energy Neutralizer Jack had designed to fit onto his leg. She liked to take it off him whenever he was in a safe environment and someone could keep a close eye on him. That way, he could have a chance to grow into his ghost powers, much like he would his other developmental stages. Jack had created a playpen that could generate its own domed Ghost Shield, but so far she hadn't felt it necessary to use it all that much. The baby hadn't shown much interest in crawling yet, and when he did, he didn't go far, making him fairly easy to find even when invisible. He hadn't started pulling himself up to stand, either, probably because he could float a few feet off the ground, and it was easier to do that when he was reaching for something over his head than to stand up.

His intangibility was more of a concern, but Jack had come up with a solution to that, as well. He and Nick had redesigned the Ghost Shields in her house, FentonWorks, and just about every house in town they regularly visited so that instead of merely creating a dome around the house, the shielding could be switched to run through every wall, floor, and ceiling, making it impossible to phase from one room to the next. With these precautions—and a little extra childproofing from floor to ceiling in case he got better at floating—Sam was content for the time being to let him play unhindered whenever she could watch him closely. She expected that safety would become a bigger issue down the road, as he got older and more mobile.

Jazz shook her head as she eyed the floating green ring. "I don't know how you do it, Sam. Kids are hard enough without ghost powers."

Sam smiled. "Lots and lots of help. Talk about a village raising a child…"

"Speaking of, where is everybody? The candlelight vigil is in just a few hours, and I can tell by the fact that the Great Santa Claus Debate is dying down that dinner will be ready soon."

"Tucker and Val and their families should be here any minute. I was just watching for them, as a matter of fact. Patrick had to work, but he said they'd definitely be here before dinner—like Dash would miss feeding time. Lancer called to say he'd be here by five, and Paulina had to stop by her family's first—although why she's coming here instead of staying with them, I'll never know."

"Same reason as Mr. Lancer, I guess. Sharing dinner together before the vigil feels… important. But why are you asking me?" Jazz gave her a pointed look. "She's _your_ friend."

"She is not my _friend_. She's my _employee_."

"Right. The only employee who gets an invite to Christmas dinner." Jazz rolled her eyes. "What about your parents? They're coming, too, right?"

"Yep. I guess it really is the season of miracles." With the third and fourth nights of Hanukkah coinciding with Christmas Eve and Christmas Day this year, planning the holidays had been challenging, especially with both sets of grandparents wanting to share their grandson's first holiday season. But Sam's parents had surprised her by agreeing to come to Christmas Eve dinner at the Fentons so they could all celebrate together.

"You seem to be getting along a lot better with them these days," Jazz observed.

"I have to admit, they've really made an effort ever since the baby's birth. I mean, they're still not thrilled with having a half-ghost grandson, but they're really trying to adjust." Sam was even finding herself visiting them regularly without being prodded. "We were just over at their house the night before last for the first night of Hanukkah, and it was… nice."

The doorbell rang before Jazz could reply, and she picked Charley up and went over to answer it. A small crowd comprising of Tucker, his parents, Valerie, and her dad came into the living room, brushing snow off their shoulders and heads. Jack stopped fussing with the tables, and Maddie emerged from the kitchen, wiping her hands on the green and red apron she was wearing over her usual blue hazmat suit. They welcomed their guests and directed those bearing gifts to the Christmas tree. Sam, however, stayed on the living room floor beside the baby so she wouldn't lose him in the general chaos of greetings.

Tucker spotted her while depositing an armful of wrapped packages under the tree, and he came over to join her. "Happy Hanukkah, Sam. Where's my godson—uh, the floating teething ring, I take it?"

She grinned up at him and nodded. "Charley was teasing him with Bearbert, so… Well, you know how it goes when he gets upset." He seemed to use his powers most when he was upset or uncomfortable. It wasn't all that unlike Danny in the early days, actually, when he used to go intangible or invisible at random moments, often when under some sort of stress.

Tucker sat down cross-legged on the floor beside her and put his hands out, carefully feeling for the baby until he found him. "Come give your Uncle Tucker a big hug." He looked like a mime as he scooped the invisible bundle into his arms, except for the fact that his glasses suddenly began floating off his face.

With a squeal of delight, the baby reappeared, one pudgy fist curled around the glasses, and the other still around the teething ring. He dropped the latter and tried to bring the former to his mouth as a replacement, but Tucker liberated the oversized frames and jammed them back onto his face, then retrieved the teething ring to give it back to him. "Uh-uh-uh! Don't play with Uncle Tucker's glasses."

Sam snickered. "What, no contacts?"

"Eh. I didn't wanna mess with 'em. I'll put them in before we head out to the park for the vigil. Gotta look good for the press." He wagged his eyebrows up and down in an exaggerated mock flirt, but the mention of the vigil made Sam's smile fade. Tucker noticed the sudden change in her mood and sobered as well. "Hard to believe it's been a year."

"A year." She shook her head, frustrated. "And what have we accomplished? A Congressional investigation into the vaccine scam and every other horrific thing they've done, and the Guys in White still haven't been shut down. Meanwhile, Danielle sits in a jail cell for committing the terrible crime of _not being like everyone else_."

"Hey. I know it feels like we haven't accomplished much in the last year, but look what we _have_ accomplished. Danielle was granted habeas rights, and they were forced to bring her before the judge just a couple of months after her arrest. That was something we never got for Danny, not even after _five_ months. And they had to move her out of whatever secret location they had her in and into the old Amity Park penitentiary—"

"Which they run."

"But it's _here_, it's not secret, and they have to allow her regular contact with her lawyers and her family, which means they can't try poisoning the ghost out of her, like they did with Danny."

"They're still experimenting on her."

"But under close scrutiny. And we even get to all visit her at once tomorrow for Christmas. That's huge progress, Sam."

"It's not enough."

He looked over towards the Christmas tree where Valerie was helping his parents and her dad arrange the gifts they'd brought. "You don't have to tell me. Dani's officially my stepdaughter now, too, you know." He turned back to Sam, flashing the ring on his left hand, as if she needed reminding. One of the first things Danielle had insisted when they'd first been allowed to contact her was that Tucker and Valerie go through with their wedding without her. After some arguments, they'd arrived at the same solution that Danny and Sam had used for their wedding issues—they had two ceremonies. The first was held in Danielle's jail cell, with only family in attendance. The second was a large, formal affair at the Grays' church in Amity Park.

Tucker grinned at Sam. "Who'd have guessed when we had to share that flour sack baby in ninth grade health class that we'd someday share an actual stepchild? _Danny and Val's_ child, no less. Tetslaff must've been psychic. Which… kinda creeps me out a little, come to think of it."

"Oh, you're hilarious."

He sighed, obviously disappointed that his attempt at joking her back into good spirits fell short. "Just wait 'til after the presidential election next year. They're so going down."

"I'm tired of waiting, Tuck. After what those lowlifes did to Danny, and to Danielle, I'm not gonna be able to really relax until they're gone."

"I hear ya. But at least they can't do anything more to hurt our family." He gave the baby a significant look as he bounced him up and down, making him laugh in delight.

Sam's face softened into a smile as she looked at her son. He looked so much like his father, with his shock of unruly black hair—a lot for a nine-month-old—and big blue eyes that sometimes, when he was upset, would glow green. She wondered if someday he'd be able to go fully ghost and get Danny's white hair, too. The thought of her son in ghost form made him seem more vulnerable, somehow, and she found herself reaching to take him from Tucker, as if by merely holding him herself, she could protect him from all the hate that he would encounter in his life just because he wasn't like everyone else.

Clenching her jaw, she looked over the top of his head at Tucker. "I know they can't do anything more to our family, but they've already done enough, don't you think?"

****

* * *

Although the Santa Claus argument ended, as it did every year, with neither side capitulating, Nick was the clear winner of the table argument, and when they all gathered for dinner, there were three folding tables pushed together to make one long one banquet table, piled high with an elaborate multi-cultural feast that included Christmas turkey, Hanukkah latkes that Sam's mother had made a point of preparing egg-free without so much as a hint of complaint—another sign of their improved relations—Mrs. Foley's baked yams and Mr. Gray's fried okra, three different kinds of tamales from Paulina's favorite caterer, and Mr. Lancer's mushroom pierogi. To top everything off, Patrick brought six different pies, including a vegan pumpkin pie. At least, Sam was pretty sure it was vegan, judging by the way Dash had practically thrown it down in front of her place setting as if it were toxic waste.

It was already after sundown by the time dinner was ready, so they started off with Sam's father lighting the menorah that sat on in the center of the long table. He lit the tallest candle in the middle, the shamash, and recited the two blessings, first in Hebrew, then in English. "_Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu, melech ha'olam asher kidishanu b'mitz'votav v'tzivanu l'had'lik neir shel Hanukkah. _ Blessed are you, Lord our God, king of the universe, who has sanctified us by his commandments, and has commanded us to kindle the lights of Hanukkah. _Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu, melech ha'olam she'asah nisim la'avoteinu bayamim haheim baziman hazeh._ Blessed are you, Lord our God, King of the universe, who performed miracles for our ancestors in days of old, at this season." Then, he used the shamash to light three of the other eight candles.

Sam bit her lip as she watched from across the table. Hanukkah was a holiday of light and miracles, but after so much loss over the past two years, it was impossible to not feel the holes left by those who were absent.

Her father caught her eye, looking a little misty himself. After he replaced the shamash in the center holder, he addressed the assembled group. "My mother was always the one who lit the menorah at Hanukkah. This is our second year without her, and as much as she and I clashed over, well, pretty much everything, it's hard not to miss her during the holidays. Being here, in this home with such an… _eclectic_ group—" This made Sam smile; he'd actually managed to say the word _eclectic_ without derision— "I can't help but think how happy this would have made her. She loved our faith and its traditions, and she taught me, and my daughter after me, to cherish it and our heritage. But she and my father also had a great appreciation for the other traditions observed this time of year. They believed that we should learn from the best of what other cultures and religions have to offer, and that light and miracles and hope are for everyone."

He looked at Sam. "My daughter took that lesson to heart more than her mother and I. She's always been one to celebrate our differences rather than be afraid of them. And because of that, we have a beautiful grandson, who brings together not only two very different families and two different religious traditions, but two different _worlds_. I… I can't pretend I am as comfortable with that as she is, but this little boy is living proof that my mother was right." He directed a fond smile at the baby, chewing happily on his favorite green teething ring in the high chair beside Sam. "Grandma Ida and Granddad Benjamin would be so proud, Sam."

She blinked back tears at the unexpected compliment, and Sam's mother sniffed and put a hand on her husband's arm as he sat down.

Jack, looking a little choked up himself, leaned across Maddie to slap Sam's father on the back. "Hear, hear, Thurston." Then, he rose, offering his own Christmas blessing. "This is a season of joy, and light, and community. As I look around this room, at all the different faces, and families, and backgrounds, I can't help but be grateful for each and every one of you and how you've touched our lives. But we also remember who can't be with us, and hope that change will come soon." Sam saw Valerie press her lips together, her head bobbing in agreement. "And we remember those who are gone, but never forgotten. They live on in our hearts, and in our memories, and in the children who come after them." Like Sam's father, Jack smiled at the grandson they shared. "Especially their namesakes."

Her dad nodded. "It's an old Jewish tradition, naming children after relatives who have passed away. That way they can always remember their connections to family they never knew. I just didn't expect my daughter to do something _traditional_."

"Some traditions are good ones, Dad." She had to swallow over the lump forming in her throat as she looked at her son.

Paulina, never one to let a touching moment pass without making it somehow about her, flashed Sam a bright smile from the far end of the table. "That's why you didn't name him after me! Because you had to name him after dead people!"

"Hey!" Tucker leaned back in his seat on the other side of the high chair, his arms folded in indignation.

Sam rolled her eyes. "Oh, don't get your shorts in a bundle, Tuck. He's only _half_ Jewish, remember?"

This seemed to appease him. "All right, then."

Jack looked around the long table at everyone gathered there. "I don't know about all of you, but I'm starved." He reached for the bowl of mashed potatoes, but Maddie slapped his hand away.

"You haven't finished saying grace yet, Jack."

"Oh, right. Good bread, good meat, good God, let's eat!" And he reached for the mashed potatoes once more.

Maddie heaved a weary sigh. "Jack…" But everyone else was starting to heap their plates with food, so she let it go and helped herself to some of Mr. Lancer's pierogi.

Sam was mashing up some of the latkes for the baby when a squeal of indignation erupted from his high chair. She turned to see that he'd dropped his teething ring onto the floor and, in reaching over for it, went intangible—but, thankfully, still visible—and freed himself from the high chair's restraints. Silently cursing herself for forgetting to put the Spectral Energy Neutralizer back on before strapping him into the chair, she dove for him. It was futile trying to catch him while he was intangible, but at least if he re-solidified, he'd land on her instead of crashing to the floor.

As it turned out, he did neither. Frustrated by the loss of his favorite green ring, he howled in outrage and, instead of falling down, started floating _up_. Sam made another grab for him, but he was still intangible, so she might as well have been trying to capture smoke. He continued rising well over their heads under the room's vaulted ceilings, like a balloon whose string had been released.

The floating seemed to soothe him, and once he was well out of anyone's reach, he turned solid again, but continued bobbing up and down, chewing on his fist jammed into his mouth. This only served to add to Sam's fears that he would fall and hurt himself, and she bit back another curse. "_Fabulous_. No interest in crawling or pulling himself up, but now he's suddenly figured out how to float _eight feet in the air_."

Valerie snorted. "He's his father's son. Why bother doing anything physical if he can use his ghost powers instead?"

Mr. Lancer, sitting next to Paulina, sighed. "Another lazy Fenton to someday grace the halls of Casper High. Why couldn't he be like his aunt instead?"

Jack, Sam's dad, and Dash, the three tallest people in the room, pulled back their chairs and climbed up on them try and catch him, but he was over the table, and none of them could quite reach him. Dash scratched his head. "You want me to go get a step-ladder?"

"What good would it do if he's over the table like that?" Sam sighed. "Man, I wish his father were here."

"So you have wished it, so shall it be."

Sam turned. Standing in the doorway to the kitchen, in ghost form, was Danny. He had his arms crossed and was smirking at her, a mischievous glint in his green eyes. "I thought you'd stricken the word 'wish' from your vocabulary, though."

Relieved to see him, she nevertheless arched her eyebrow, maintaining a dry tone. "I figured it was safe since it's Christmas Eve. Now, can you please get your son down? He's learned a new trick."

Danny frowned, confused, until she pointed up at the ceiling. He followed her gaze, then groaned. "Benjamin Tucker Fenton! What are you doing up there?" He looked back at Sam. "When did he learn to do _that_?"

"About five seconds ago. Can you please get him down, now? We can't reach him over the table."

"And make it quick," Paulina added. "I don't want baby drool on my tamales."

While Danny flew up to the ceiling to retrieve his wayward son, Sam went over to the living room sofa, where she'd left the diaper bag, and rummaged around in it until she found the Spectral Energy Neutralizer. She watched as Ben eluded Danny's grasp several times before he finally caught him. Using his own ghost powers as a counter against his son's so that he couldn't go intangible and escape again, Danny settled back down onto the floor beside the high chair. While he held the squirming baby, who protested with loud wailing and a face red with indignation, Sam snapped the Spectral Energy Neutralizer onto his leg, then retrieved the green teething ring from the floor and handed it to him. After a moment, he calmed down again, and she took him from Danny to put him back in his high chair.

The commotion over, everyone returned to their meals, and Maddie looked over at Danny. "We thought you wouldn't be back until much later, sweetie, or we would've waited to start eating."

"Yeah," Sam agreed as she strapped Ben into his chair. "I thought the Christmas Truce didn't even start until sundown, and that was less than an hour ago"

Danny shrugged, morphing into human form. "Yeah, well, you know how time's kinda… fuzzy in the Ghost Zone. Things got rolling well before sundown Amity Park time. Besides, have you ever tried ghost Christmas goose?" He gave a dramatic shudder. "I ate a few bites so as to not offend the Lunch Lady, but I wanted to be good and hungry for Mom's turkey. Ooh, and Mrs. Foley's yams." He smiled at Tucker's mother.

Maddie got up from the table. "Well, good. We were just getting started. I'll get a place setting for you. Jack, go get another chair."

"I can do that, Mom."

"Don't be silly. You take it easy. It'll just take a second." She headed into the kitchen with Jack behind her.

Danny raised his eyebrows at Sam, but she just shrugged in response. After Frostbite's team had come up with an anti-venom for the poison that had very nearly killed him, Danny's recovery had been long and slow, and his mother tended to treat him like he was still fragile, always wanting to do the most simple tasks for him, even while she somewhat paradoxically accepted the more dangerous duties he undertook as his powers and strength gradually returned. It was as if by controlling the little things, she could somehow keep him safe from the big things. Danny had long since given up attempting anything more than token protests, but Sam knew it still irked him a little. As someone who watched and worried alongside Maddie through his recovery, however, a part of her sympathized with her mother-in-law.

When the Fentons returned with a chair and place setting, Sam slid the high chair closer to her to make room for Danny on the other side of it, next to Tucker. Danny, meanwhile, began heaping food onto his plate. As he reached for some turkey, he eyed the latkes Sam had mashed for Ben. "He should be old enough for turkey, if I throw it in the food processor with the potatoes or yams, don't you think?"

Sam arched an eyebrow at him. "So you're feeding him, then?" They had an agreement, which they'd made when they'd first started introducing solid foods, that Ben could eat age-appropriate meat, dairy, and egg products, but only if Danny was feeding him. Sam had done extensive research into healthy vegan diets for nursing moms and babies, and when she was doing the feeding, it was strictly plant products. When she couldn't nurse, they gave him soy formula, but when it came to solid foods, she and Danny each picked what they wanted to feed him when it was their turn. Sam figured, like with everything else in Ben's varied background, he could make his own decision when he was old enough. After all, she and Danny had named him after his great-grandfather who, along with his great-grandmother, had always believed in the uniqueness of each individual. She'd wanted to honor her grandmother, who'd been her greatest influence and role model, but couldn't make a name out of "Ida" that she liked for a boy, so she'd chosen the name of the most important person in her grandmother's life instead.

Danny nodded. "Sure, I'll feed him. You sit back and enjoy your own dinner." He looked at Tucker. "Can I borrow your salad plate, Tuck? I assume you won't need it."

"Be my guest. It couldn't be going to a better cause."

Sam rolled her eyes, remembering that they'd also named the baby after the biggest carnivore on the planet. That had been Danny's decision, since Sam had picked his first name, but she'd readily agreed that it was the perfect tribute to their mutual best friend, the one person who had kept her from falling apart during Danny's absence and the first six months of her pregnancy. Now, however, she was having second thoughts as she glared at Tucker. "You stay out of it. If he grows up to be a meat eater, so be it. But it better not be from _your_ propaganda."

While she chastised him, Danny took his salad plate, put a little bit of turkey and some yams onto it, then headed towards the kitchen before his mother could suggest she do it instead. Sam could hear the food processor whirring for about a minute, and then Danny returned with a disgusting-looking conglomeration of orange and tan puree. He sat down and offered the baby a spoonful, but no sooner did it go into Ben's mouth, when it came back out again, dribbling over his chin and onto his bib while he made a face.

Sam grinned. "Maybe we'll make a vegetarian out of him after all."

"It's not the turkey that's the problem," Tucker said. "Danny ruined perfectly good meat with those yams."

Tucker's mother, seated right next to Sam, leaned over her to scowl at her son. "You better not be talking about _my_ yams, Tucker Foley!"

"Sorry, Mom, but a veggie's a veggie, even if you're the one who cooked it." He turned to Danny. "And speaking of disgusting foods, other than ghost goose—ew—how was Christmas in the Ghost Zone?"

Danny shoveled another spoonful of orange goo into his son's mouth. This time, it mostly stayed. "It was… I dunno. Weird. More than the ghost idea of Christmas usually is, I mean. It's like they…" He shook his head, at a loss.

Sam cocked her head. "Like they were glad to see you, maybe?"

"Yeah." He wrinkled his nose in confusion. "I mean, they've always been pretty welcoming towards me at Christmas, but this was different. I don't know how to explain it."

"I do. They missed you when you were gone, and they're glad you're back. You'd only been back a day and were still pretty out of it from that stupid drug last Christmas Eve, so maybe you don't remember how many of them came by to see you, but you coming back was a big deal to them. Almost as much as it was to us."

"Which is… weird. Because ever since I've gotten strong enough, I've been back to wailing on them when they mess around in the Human World."

"I know. What do you think it is that they missed?"

He chuckled. "You know, you just might be right about that. I think you get the ghosts better than I do."

"Goth," she reminded him. "Weird and freaky is my thing."

"True." A wad of yams and turkey splattered on his face, and he briefly went intangible to let it fall to the floor. "Oh, and Walker was there."

Sam raised an eyebrow at him. "Really?" Danny had been furious when she'd told him how Walker had been the one ghost who had gone after her when she was pregnant, but if the ghost warden's presence on Christmas Eve bothered him, it didn't show. She wondered if that was his human side being forgiving, or his ghost side really assimilating the spirit of the Christmas Truce after all.

"Ugh." Jazz made a face across the table as she tried to get Charley to eat some green beans. "I thought he was on the outs with the other ghosts because of the baby."

Beside her, Nick frowned. "And wasn't he the ghost that caused all the problems that first time the Guys in White arrested you, back when I first found out who you were?"

"That's him." Danny pulled the spoon away just in time to avoid Ben swatting it out of his hand. "But you guys know how the ghosts are. You need a playbook to keep track of who's made alliances with each other, and who's wailing on who."

"Whom," Mr. Lancer called out from the opposite end of the table. "It's 'who's wailing on _whom_.'"

"Uh… right." Danny winced at his former English teacher before turning back to Sam. "So, anyway, Walker's at least willing to be part of the Christmas Truce again. And, believe it or not, when the Box Ghost mentioned wanting to see the baby, he didn't even make a fuss. All the ghosts were kinda disappointed I didn't bring him, I think. You both should come with me next year."

"Maybe." It wasn't so much that she was worried about the ghosts, especially not on Christmas Eve, but even after a year of recovery, Danny's ghost powers still weren't back to a hundred percent. Eighty-five, maybe, but for their son's first trip into the Ghost Zone, nothing short of a hundred would satisfy Sam. By next year, she hoped he would be. "We'll see how things are next year. And by then, Dani will be able to come, too."

Danny's eyes narrowed in determination. "Yeah, she will. Speaking of…" He twisted to look behind Tucker's back to Valerie. "Hey, Val. Who's all going to the penitentiary tomorrow to visit Dani for Christmas?"

"We are, of course." She indicated Tucker and herself. "And your parents and Jazz and Nick." She raised her voice so she could be heard further down the table. "Daddy, you're going with us to see Dani, right?"

Mr. Gray, sitting on the other side of Tucker's parents, nodded. "You bet, baby girl."

"How many visitors can she have at once?" Patrick asked from the far end of the table.

Sam shrugged. "They normally allow only two or three, but Miguel and Rob worked really hard to arrange a big family visit. We can have up to fifteen adults, plus Ben and Charley, for one hour. Ben and Danny have to wear Spectral Energy Neutralizers, though." She made a face. "But, anyway, Miguel wants to be there, so with us, the Fentons, Jazz and Nick, Tuck and Val, and Mr. Gray, that's ten."

"I'd like to go," Mr. Lancer said. "Unlike some people at this table who shall remain nameless, she was always a hard-working student. I look forward to seeing her resume her medical studies and get her M.D."

Dash leaned forward over his plate. "Can Patrick and I go?"

"I want to, too," Paulina added.

Sam's eyes widened. "You wanna go, Paulina? To _jail_? To visit someone you barely know?"

"Listen, Drusilla. I've been fighting for her freedom for a year, same as you. I'm the one who planned tonight's vigil for her freedom, even. Along with Danny, she's the icon of this whole movement. Of course I wanna see her."

Danny looked moved. "Thanks, Paulina. That… it means a lot to me."

Tucker shook his head. "We've really come a long way since the days Team Phantom was just you, me, Sam, and a couple of Fenton Thermoses."

"No kidding." Danny wiped another splatter of turkey and yams off of Ben's face—he couldn't use the intangible trick on him while he was wearing the Spectral Energy Neutralizer. "Who'd have thought back then that I'd be celebrating Christmas Eve with the ghosts and fighting humans in the courts? It's a whole new world."

"And when we're through, it'll be a better one." Sam looked at her son, who had smashed his fist into the plate of latkes that was still sitting in front of him and was smearing it onto the high chair tray. "So he won't have to ever hide a part of himself."

Danny gave her a wistful look. "Remember what I asked you the night we first got together? When I asked you if you wanted to go for a ride?"

"To see where the future takes us?"

He nodded. "Is this where you imagined the future taking us?"

She looked down the table at the people she considered most precious to her. Not just the Fentons, Tucker and his parents, or Valerie and her dad, but Mr. Lancer, Dash, Paulina… Even her semi-friendly relationship with her own parents was something she never would've thought possible a decade ago. She thought of Danielle, whom she'd once known only as some distant cousin of Danny's, and now her absence was painful to Sam in a way she couldn't have imagined back then.

And then there was her son, Danny in miniature, covered in as much glop as if he'd just survived his first Casper High food fight.

"Nope." Sam smiled, wiping a bit of mush off him with her thumb, not even caring that it had meat in it. "Not even close."

_-THE END-_

**Author's Note:**

> I really want to thank everyone who's joined me on this somewhat strange ride. I began writing this story almost a year before its original posting, and it has been one of the most fulfilling just-for-fun pieces of writing I've ever worked on, and I'm grateful to everyone who's taken the time to read and to offer feedback. The few weeks during this story's initial posting had been very difficult for my family, and this story and the comments I've been getting from readers have been a bright spot in all of it, and have made it just a little bit easier to cope with all the other stuff. I'm going to really miss this story now that it's done.
> 
> Thank you all so much for your support.


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